Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on the developer of an offshore wind project in New York to legally challenge the Trump administration’s recent stop-work order on the $2.5 billion project.
The New York Democrat told reporters Thursday that he was planning to tell leaders of the Empire Wind project, spearheaded by Norwegian energy company Equinor, to bring a suit against the administration. Schumer added that he believes the Interior Department had little legal basis to suspend it in its April stop-work order.
“We think it’s illegal. And in fact, I have a call today into the head of [Equinor] to tell him to go to court, you’ll win the case,” Schumer said. “Our lawyers we’ve consulted think they have no basis to suspend it. It’s a great project and New York needs it.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt the major offshore wind project off the coast of New York due to his assertion that the Biden administration had permitted the project without sufficient analysis. The project, which was expected to be completed in 2026, was slated to deliver 810 megawatts of renewable energy to New York state.
