In reversal, Trump officials will authorize a huge NY offshore wind farm to continue

The Trump administration has enabled the construction to restart on a huge wind farm off the coast of Long Island, a month after federal officials had issued a very unusual stop prescription which had pushed the $ 5 billion project on the verge of collapse.

In a statement, Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat of New York, said that she had spent weeks putting pressure on President Trump and interior secretary Doug Burgum to raise the government’s grip on the wind farm.

The project, known as the Wind Empire, is under construction by the giant Norwegian Energy Equinor and, once finished, should provide enough electricity to feed 500,000 houses in New York.

“After countless conversations with the equine and the managers of the White House, bringing the workforce and the business to the table to underline the importance of this project, I am happy that President Trump and Secretary Burgum agreed to lift the work voucher and allow this project to move forward,” said Hochul on Monday evening.

When the Trump administration interrupted the work on Empire Wind last month, it amazed the observers and sent shock waves in the wind industry.

Equinor had obtained all the permits necessary for the project after an examination of the four -year federal environment, and the company had already started to lay foundations for the turbines of the project at the bottom of the ocean. 1,500 other workers had started to build a marine terminal in Brooklyn.