Equinor could axe wind project off New York within days

Norwegian energy giant Equinor is considering terminating its 810MW Empire Wind wind farm off Long Island due to the Trump administration putting a halt to the construction of the project.

Interior secretary Doug Burgum directed the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to stop Equinor from continuing construction of the project, stating that more time was needed to assess the project’s previous approvals.

Some democrats claimed the stoppage of the project would have a “chilling effect” on developers. Even Leslie Beyer, Donald Trump’s nominee for the assistant secretary role in the Department of the Interior, agreed during her confirmation hearing that the order to stop work on the Empire Wind project sent “a dangerous message” as companies needed certainty in the permitting system so they could make financial investment decisions.

Burgum accused the prior administration of rushing approvals for Empire Wind “without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies as relates to the potential effects from the project”. However, Empire Wind needed years to acquire all permits and the final nod to begin construction.

Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas, said that Equinor had already invested over $2.5bn in the project and that the stoppage caused an “urgent, unsustainable situation”, which is costing the company up to $50m per week. Those costs include 11 vessels on standby.

She claimed that Equinor would be forced to terminate the project if no progress was made towards a resolution “within days”. Morris warned that the US was making “a dangerous precedent by stopping a project in mid-execution” and that the issue was about honouring contracts and financial investments made in the US.

Morris and Equinor CEO Anders Opedal did have a meeting with the director of the US National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, last week to try and resolve the issue. However, the Equinor officials were not able to arrange a meeting with Interior secretary Burgum, who is the man responsible for the issue.