Trump Reversed His NY Wind Farm Stance After Hochul Agreed to Pipelines

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(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration is allowing construction to resume on a $5 billion wind farm off Long Island after reaching a deal with New York Governor Kathy Hochul that could allow new natural gas pipelines to be built in the state. 

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The agreement to lift a stop-work order on Equinor ASA’s Empire Wind 1 project came after weeks of talks, including at least three conversations between Hochul and President Donald Trump over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the conversations were private.

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In return, Hochul signaled Monday that New York will not stand in the way of new energy projects — a move some of the people said opens the door for more pipelines to bring gas from the Marcellus shale formation in Pennsylvania. Such projects have long been thwarted by opposition from Northeast states over concerns about their impact on water quality and climate change, effectively limiting gas supplies in the region and driving up electricity and heating bills. 

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Chief among them is the Constitution Pipeline that Williams Cos. scrapped in 2020 and the company’s Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which would have delivered gas to New York and New Jersey but was effectively abandoned last year. 

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The deal between Trump and Hochul, a Democrat, marks a stunning reprieve for Equinor’s massive wind farm project that appeared to be on the brink of being scrapped after the US Interior Department halted construction last month. It also breathes potential life into pipeline projects that the industry has long written off as dead.

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Hochul praised the administration’s decision in a statement Monday, adding that she had “reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law.” Hochul cast that support for new energy projects as part of a bid to “ensure reliability and affordability for consumers.”

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While the deal buoyed hopes for a single wind farm proposed about 20 miles southeast of New York City, it hasn’t lifted the deep sense of anxiety hanging over the nascent offshore wind industry. The sector was struggling with inflation and supply chain challenges even before the administration began actively scrutinizing previously approved projects. 

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Analysts cautioned against interpreting the development as a major policy shift, predicting that projects nearer to construction will have an easier time advancing than those in earlier phases of review. The agreement also sets the stage for more transactional exchanges between project advocates — including state governors — and the White House. 

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We “would not ignore implications for possible wind-for-pipeline negotiations,” analysts at ClearView Energy Partners LLC said in a research note Tuesday morning. 

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New York officials have long seen offshore wind farms as critical to delivering emission-free electricity to the state, and Equinor had secured final approval and permits under former President Joe Biden. But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum froze work on it in April, saying its potential impacts hadn’t been studied enough.