Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NY’s offshore wind project resumes after Trump’s stop work order
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Jan 15, 2026
Modified Jan 15, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Equinor
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Jan 15, 2026
Modified Jan 15, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
One of New York’s offshore wind projects is back on track, for now.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction for Norwegian energy firm Equinor to resume construction on its New York offshore wind project, Empire 1.
The Trump administration issued an order to stop work last year on offshore wind projects, citing unspecified safety and national security concerns. Equinor’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior’s work stoppage will proceed. The White House responded to a request for comment on the injunction by calling wind energy “the scam of the century.”
“Empire Wind will now focus on safely restarting construction activities that were halted during the suspension period,” Equinor spokesperson David Schoetz wrote in a statement. “The project will continue to engage with the U.S. government to ensure the safe, secure and responsible execution of its operations.”
The stop work order also extended to the Sunrise wind project from Danish energy firm Orsted, which is also seeking a preliminary injunction against the order. That case remains pending. A judge granted Orsted a preliminary injunction related to a wind project off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island earlier this week
The New York attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit last week against the blockage of the state’s wind projects, calling the order “arbitrary and capricious.”
“I'm sick and tired of having to go to court time and time and time again to stop these decisions,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “They're designed to do nothing other than hurt workers, hurt our states, hurt our economy and hurt our energy future. So we won.”
The Empire 1 wind Project, located about 14 miles southeast of Long Island, was scheduled to provide power next year with 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. The project would be the first offshore wind power source connected to New York City. Equinor said the project is well over half complete.
The Sunrise wind project, located about 30 miles east of Montauk, was expected to be operational around the same time. The project is nearly at its halfway point, according to Orsted.
The wind projects underwent more than a decade of extensive national security and safety review and received approval from the U.S. Department of Defense. The federal government has yet to specify its newfound security concerns.
The federal pause came weeks after the attorney general’s office successfully sued the administration over the federal freeze on permitting new wind energy projects.
The Empire 1 and Sunrise projects affected by the work pause employ thousands of union workers. The energy firms and other stakeholders said the halt jeopardizes billions of private and public dollars invested into the construction and the revitalization of local infrastructure, such as Staten Island’s port facilities and the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. These ports are being redeveloped to serve as supply and construction hubs for offshore wind.
“Despite the good news of these decisions, they still do not ensure that these projects will be completed,” said Rob Freudenberg, vice president for energy and environment at advocacy group the Regional Plan Association, in a statement. “Even an ultimate victory against the Administration’s freeze - based on supposed National Security concerns - does not prevent them from taking additional steps to disrupt, delay, or cease the projects.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Tagged
Politics
new york state
renewable energy
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .