A US District Court has lifted a Trump-era stop-work order on New York's Empire 1 offshore wind project, allowing construction to resume. The injunction grants Norwegian energy firm Equinor permission to restart work on the project, which was halted last year due to unspecified safety and national security concerns.
Equinor had filed a lawsuit against the US Department of the Interior for the work stoppage, arguing that it was arbitrary and capricious. The company plans to focus on safely restarting construction activities, while continuing to engage with the government to ensure the safe operation of its project.
The Empire 1 project, located off the coast of Long Island, had been scheduled to provide power next year with 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. Equinor claims that the project is nearly complete and has already received approval from the US Department of Defense.
However, the decision does not apply to another affected wind project, Sunrise, which is also seeking a preliminary injunction against the order. The New York attorney general's office had filed a lawsuit last week calling the stop work order "arbitrary and capricious".
New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressed relief at the court's decision, stating that it was designed to hurt workers, states, economies, and energy futures. She also warned that the federal government could still take additional steps to disrupt or delay the projects.
Critics of the Trump-era stop work order argue that it jeopardizes billions of dollars invested in offshore wind construction and infrastructure development, including ports being redeveloped to serve as supply hubs for wind farms.
Equinor had filed a lawsuit against the US Department of the Interior for the work stoppage, arguing that it was arbitrary and capricious. The company plans to focus on safely restarting construction activities, while continuing to engage with the government to ensure the safe operation of its project.
The Empire 1 project, located off the coast of Long Island, had been scheduled to provide power next year with 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. Equinor claims that the project is nearly complete and has already received approval from the US Department of Defense.
However, the decision does not apply to another affected wind project, Sunrise, which is also seeking a preliminary injunction against the order. The New York attorney general's office had filed a lawsuit last week calling the stop work order "arbitrary and capricious".
New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressed relief at the court's decision, stating that it was designed to hurt workers, states, economies, and energy futures. She also warned that the federal government could still take additional steps to disrupt or delay the projects.
Critics of the Trump-era stop work order argue that it jeopardizes billions of dollars invested in offshore wind construction and infrastructure development, including ports being redeveloped to serve as supply hubs for wind farms.
I just heard about this court decision on the Empire 1 offshore wind project and I gotta say, I'm all for it 
. It's a win-win for everyone involved – Equinor gets to finish their project without any more headaches, the workers can get back to work, and New York can finally start reaping the benefits of this massive renewable energy venture 
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. Of course, there are still concerns about safety and national security, but it seems like the court has made a fair decision 
. Fingers crossed that this sets a precedent for other projects and we can see more of these offshore wind farms pop up around the country 
!
, we need more clean energy in our lives and projects like Empire 1 are taking us closer to that goal. It's just frustrating when things get stuck due to safety concerns. I'm glad Equinor is being responsible about restarting construction activities safely 
. The governor seems relieved too, which is awesome 
. Hopefully, this clears up some uncertainty for the workers and companies invested in these projects 
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Anyways, super glad Equinor is taking steps to safely restart construction. And I can imagine how frustrating it must be for the workers who've already invested so much time and energy into the project. Fingers crossed that this decision will help get things moving again and create some green jobs in the process 
just saw that US District Court lifted the stop-work order on Empire 1 offshore wind project 
. Anyway, according to gov't data, wind energy in US grew by 15% last year 
. Now, if we assume Empire 1 will be completed on time and meets safety standards, that's approximately 6 GW of clean energy added to the grid 
(assuming 54 turbines produce around 2 GW each). To put it into perspective, that's equivalent to taking around 8 million cars off the road per year 
️. Anywayz, gonna keep an eye on this one 
#RenewableEnergyMatters #StopTheDrill #CleanAirIsKey
. I mean, who needs offshore wind farms anyway? It's just gonna be a bunch of turbines ruining the view on Long Island 
. And what about those workers who were hurt or lost their jobs because of the stop work order? Don't they deserve some sort of compensation or support?
. We should be focusing on real problems like climate change, not just playing politics with wind farms 
The Empire 1 offshore wind project is such an important step towards reducing our carbon footprint and meeting climate targets 
just don't get why they stopped this project in the first place... like, isn't renewable energy a good thing? 
what about the jobs that are already created? I mean, I get it, safety first and all that, but can't we find a balance here? 
. But seriously, can we talk about how confusing it is that some projects are okay but others aren't? Like, what's the difference between Sunrise and Empire 1 again? 
It feels like there's a whole world of wind energy politics happening right under our noses 
. She's been a thorn in the side of the energy industry for years. And what's with Kathy Hochul's warning about the feds taking more action? 
. Those workers off Long Island have been waiting for months, and now they can start getting paid again 
. I'm a bit worried about Sunrise project, though... if Equinor can do it, maybe others will too? Fingers crossed they get some resolution soon 
finally some good news about those wind turbines 
! i mean, i was lowkey worried they were gonna get axed lol, but looks like equinor's all good 
! all this drama over safety concerns is just a big red flag... like what are we even talking about here? thousands of jobs and billions of dollars invested in renewable energy and it gets put on hold by some trump-era stop-work order 
The real question is: what's next for our country's energy policy?