Interior Sec. and National Energy Dominance Council Chair Doug Burgum today announced on X that, following consultation with Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick, the Interior Department directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to immediately halt all construction activities related to the Empire Wind offshore wind project “until further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.” He added that “on day one,” Pres. Trump “called for comprehensive reviews of federal wind projects and wind leasing, and at Interior, we are doing our part to make sure these instructions are followed.”
The project involves the development of two offshore wind facilities in federal waters located ~12 nautical miles south of Long Island, NY and ~17 miles east of Long Branch, NJ, with a projected total capacity of 2,076 megawatts of energy.