A $5 billion green energy project touted by the Biden administration and Democrats was rushed and relied on faulty science that could have resulted in severe negative environmental impacts, a new study found.
The Empire Wind Project, which was being developed by energy company “Equinor” and was slated to see the construction of 147 ocean wind turbines off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, was halted by the Trump Department of the Interior in a move announced this week.
The project was estimated to cost a total of $5 billion and was being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
On Wednesday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the project would remain halted pending “further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.”
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A review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) appears to back up the Trump administration’s concerns.
The agency found the Empire Wind approval process relied on rushed, outdated and incomplete scientific and environmental analysis, leading to project leaders making decisions not based on the best available information.
The NOAA said that “monitoring plans to assess project effects on fisheries and habitat resources were inadequate, and existing compensation mechanisms fell short due to flawed scientific methodologies.”
Ultimately, these deficiencies “limited the ability to avoid and minimize conflicts between development and marine resources at both stages.”
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The result was that several sensitive habitats, spawning grounds, and important regional commercial and recreational fishing areas were included within the wind farm area.
“Critical areas that support commercial and recreational fisheries were not excluded from leasing, and proposals that emphasized maximum development scenarios further restricted opportunities to reduce impacts on fisheries and important habitats,” the NOAA’s study found.
In total, approximately 139 acres of seabed would have been permanently altered by wind turbine generators and equipment and an additional 1,554 acres would have been altered by the installation of a submarine cable connecting the turbines to the land.
Additionally, the project did not account for new information about adverse construction impacts of other ocean wind farms, such as the catastrophic turbine blade failures that occurred in 2024 at another Biden wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, as well as problems with persistent fish kills associated with the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
Despite these concerns, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has vowed to fight the Trump administration’s decision to halt the project.
After Burgum announced the project was being halted, Hochul slammed the decision, saying, “Permits secured. Shovels in the ground. 1,000 union workers earning a paycheck. Now the federal government wants to kill Empire Wind 1, putting jobs, affordable energy, and our economic future at risk.”
Hochul pledged to “fight them every step of the way.”
A Thursday statement by Equinor said that Empire is complying with the government’s order to halt construction but noted it is “engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order.”
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