A huge New York offshore wind project could soon be abandoned in mid-construction due to a mysterious relationship that few people in Washington seem to have seen with the exception of the interior secretary Doug Burgum, a journalist from Fox News and the scientists who have apparently written it.
“”The scientists of (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) revealed that the precipitated approval of the Biden Administration of the Empire Wind project was built on BAD & Defective science ”, interior secretary Doug Burgum posted on X in April 21Five days after issuing a stop prescription which interrupted the wind of the Empire 1 project and shocked industry. His publications on social networks implied that the results of federal scientists Noaa were the basis of the extreme measurement. Construction cannot restart as long as the interior department does not work “”Other criticisms, “he wrote.
Those apparently overwhelming Noaa However, the results were not made public. The Burgum office did not respond to Canary Media requests to share them. They were not shared with Equinor, the project developer either. In May 14American senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, had not seen them either, despite repeated requests. Even key members of Burgum’s own employees at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Renewable Energy Office have not seen it, Au Canary Media learned.
“”No one has seen this report, “said a career employee in the Interior Department that Canary Media has granted anonymity to speak freely for fear of reprisals. “”My personal opinion is that they are all bullshit.
The lack of clarity raises questions on the basis of the initial decision of the interior department, and what exactly is its current exam. Desperate for an answer, Equinor used a request from the Freedom of Information Act for the report. This route could take months or years to deliver – while the project simply cannot afford.
Delays have created a “”Urgent and unsustainable situation ”, according to One Empire Wind Executive, who told the Associated Press last week that the company was far from abandoning the renewable energy project. The costs of inactive boats and anchored workers are simply too high, she said, raising the $ $ company50 million per week.
About two weeks in sea construction in April 16Burgum sent a letter to Boema branch of the interior, which stopped work at sea. In the Burgum declaration on the Noaa The conclusions of scientists, published on x days later, it was linked to an article by Fox News which summarizes the content of a “”study »of Noaaa sub-agency of the Commerce Department which works in close collaboration with Boem To guarantee the offshore wind and the other ocean energy developments, does not retain American laws.
Fox News journalist seems to be the first and the only journalist to access the content of the study.
Industry groups are afraid that the order of Burgum establishing a dangerous precedent to spray energy projects in the middle of construction on the premise of politics.
“”Stop work on the empire wind entirely authorized by the federal government 1 The offshore project should send chills in all the industries that invest and hold contracts with the US government, “said Liz Burdock, president and CEO Of Oceantic Network, an offshore wind group.
Inner staff left in darkness
The documents obtained by Canary Media indicate that the staff members of the Boem’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs (Orep) were denied access to the report.
Orep is the government “”HUB “for the offshore wind permit and the federal coordination, said the interior employee who spoke with Canary Media. His staff is in constant contact with offshore wind developers, added the person, from the purchase of lease at the point where “”Steel goes into water. It is not uncommon, they explained, for a developer and their assigned Orep point of contact to meet several times a month.
The interior employee said the staff OrepIncluding high -level figures, were not alerted to the order of Burgum until the day when the news broke out: “”There was not Boem Press release… Nothing intern is out. »»
Regarding the Wind Block Empire, Burgum seems to keep Boem in darkness.
The internal staff said that, to their knowledge, no one Orep was explicitly invited to help the current Wind Empire approval examination that Burgum announced in April.
But a few days after the announcement of the news, Orep was used to assemble a calculation sheet that summed up “”concerns ”concerning the Wind Empire, according to internal staff. The summary was prepared by Orep The staff and sent to one of the office supervisors during last week, according to the emails shared with Canary Media. The calculation sheet has listed all the concerns raised by the public and other federal agencies during the eight -year -old empire has gone from the sale of lease to complete approval.
For each concern raised about the wind of empire, Orep The staff were informed in an email seen by Canary Media to summarize succinctly “”BoemThe answer, the extent to which the problem has been fully resolved, BoemThe point of view to know if the concern is attenuated and if there are new information that has been identified since approval (construction and operations) which would modify the observation or the result. »»
The spreadsheet includes hundreds of concerns – whether valid or not – whether the public has submitted in response to the evaluation of the environmental impact of the Wind Empire. Orep The staff were invited to capture as much as possible “”summary.”
The internal staff member said that the whole year had unleashed a fishing expedition – “”To say that there is a problem and then they have to go get a problem. »»
Wind Company fails to report
Equinor, the developer of the wind farm, was also in the dark.
