The administration of President Donald Trump, which halted an offshore wind farm in New York and New Jersey, then allowed it to resume, is moving against it again.
In a federal court filing Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it intends to reconsider the prior approval of the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind project granted under the Biden administration.
Empire Wind, located off the coast of Long Branch in New Jersey and Long Beach in Long Island, New York, is the only offshore wind project being built off New Jersey’s coast following a string of project cancellations or indefinite postponements over the past two years.
And the same agency says it is reconsidering approval of the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project in New Jersey, which is all but dead in the water after the federal government revoked a critical clean air permit, without which the project cannot be built.
The announcement came in a filing made in response to ongoing litigation brought by the local anti-offshore wind group Save Long Beach Island and other groups that want to drive the final nails into the coffin of the offshore wind industry in New Jersey and along the East Coast.
“This is a major admission by the federal government that its prior approval of Empire Wind 2 cannot stand as is,” said Bob Stern, president of Save Long Beach Island.
Empire Wind, slated to be located as close as 19 miles off the coast of New Jersey, would have 57 wind turbines for its first phase and up to 90 additional wind turbines for its second phase.
Like the offshore wind industry in general, the Empire Wind project has had a turbulent history.
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Regulated by New York state authorities, the project progressed to the point where initial construction had been about 30% completed when Trump issued a halt to it on April 16, saying the Biden administration had “rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis or consultation among the relevant agencies.”
Yet a month later, Trump reversed course in a move that stunned opponents of offshore wind, allowing the project to resume after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled a willingness to reconsider some natural gas projects in the state.
At the time, the CEO of Equinor, the Norwegian energy company building the project, thanked Trump “for finding a solution that saves thousands of American jobs and provides for continued investments in energy infrastructure in the U.S.”
The company declined to comment Friday.
The New Jersey Offshore Wind Alliance said in a statement that the U.S. needs all types of energy.
“Offshore wind projects undergo extensive review and consideration, spanning potential environmental, national security, and safety issues, before receiving a green light,” said the group’s executive director, Paulina O’Connor. “As skyrocketing demand for more energy continues to outpace planned supply, we should not be limiting new sources of energy from coming online, as this will only raise prices for consumers.”
BOEM also says it plans to reconsider approvals for the construction and operations plan and the record of decision that were granted to Atlantic Shores, a once-promising wind farm project that has languished after the federal government stripped it of an air quality permit in March in response to litigation brought by Save Long Beach Island involving environmental conditions at a nature preserve in Brigantine.
“This is a significant admission by the federal agencies that the Atlantic Shores approvals cannot withstand legal scrutiny in their current form,” said Thomas Stavola Jr., an attorney for Save Long Beach Island. “The agencies have now recognized that their environmental review process was flawed and must be revisited.”
The group also has petitioned the U.S. Department of the Interior to cancel the leases for the Atlantic Shores South and North projects, and rescind existing permit approvals.
Contact Wayne Parry:
609-272-7000
wparry@pressofac.com
X @WayneParryAC
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