BREAKING: Equinor Resumes Empire Wind 1 Construction as US Gov’t Lifts Stop-Work Order

The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has notified Equinor that the stop-work order for the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project, issued on 16 April, has been lifted. Equinor said on 19 May that the company will now resume construction work on what will be the first offshore wind farm to connect to New York City’s grid.

The order was lifted following dialogue with regulators and federal, state, and city officials, according to Equinor, whose CEO Anders Opedal thanked US President Trump “for finding a solution that saves thousands of American jobs” and New York Governor Hochul for “her constructive collaboration with the Trump Administration” that helped advance the project.

“I knew this critical project needed to move forward and have spent weeks pushing the federal government to rescind the stop work order to allow the workers to return and ensure this important source of renewable power could come to fruition“, Governor Hochul said in a statement after the order was rescinded.

“After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary Burgum have agreed to lift the stop work order and allow this project to move forward. Now, Equinor will resume the construction of this fully-permitted project that had already received the necessary federal approvals.”

Equinor’s CEO also thanked New York City Mayor Adams, congressional leaders, labour groups and other advocates who have maintained their support for the project, as well as the Norwegian Prime Minister Støre for the support and the Minister of Finance Stoltenberg for raising the issue with the US administration.

The developer, which recently said the Empire Wind 1 was at risk of missing this year’s offshore construction window due to the stop-work order and was considering cancelling the project as one of the options, now aims to carry out the planned activities during this offshore installation window and for the project to reach its planned commercial operation date in 2027.

The company also said on 19 May that it would engage with suppliers and regulatory bodies to reduce the impact of the stop-work order, and that it would perform an updated assessment of the project economics in the second quarter of this year.

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