President Donald Trump’s latest salvo against offshore wind threatens the reliability of New York’s electric grid — and undermines Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “all-of-the-above” pivot on energy.
Trump announced a pause Monday on five offshore wind projects already under construction, including two with contracts to supply New York. That includes one Hochul negotiated with Trump to salvage earlier this year, in what administration officials portrayed as a deal to win approval of a natural gas pipeline.
New York’s Democratic governor has maintained a working relationship with the Republican president, taking a less confrontational tack than some of her colleagues. But that approach has sparked outrage from environmentalists — and the latest development further stoked their ire.
Hochul told reporters Monday that she’d spoken with Trump recently about some of her priorities including nuclear energy and a new Hudson River rail tunnel, but she said the action on offshore wind didn’t come up.
