New York 'Working With Other States,' 'Reviewing Options' Over Halt Of Wind Farm Projects: Hochul Aide

SHIRLEY, NY — New York is weighing its options following the federal government's pause on the lease for Sunrise Wind off the coast of Shirley, an aide for Gov. Kathy Hochul told Patch.

Sunrise Wind's developer, the Denmark-based Ørsted, was told by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management "to suspend all ongoing activities on the outer continental shelf" over the next 90 days, something the agency can extend, according to a statement released by a company spokeswoman.

The lease for Sunrise Wind was paused Monday due to unspecified national security risks, which were identified by the Pentagon, News 12 reported.

The move will afford the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind projects, the time to work with the Defense Department, as well as other agencies, to assess security risk mitigation, the outlet reported.

Other paused leases include that of Ørsted's other project, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island, as well as Empire Wind in Long Beach, the Vineyard Wind project in Massachusetts, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the outlet reported.

Hochul on Tuesday joined with her three colleagues, Massachusetts' Gov. Maura Healey, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, to condemn the pause by President Donald Trump's administration, by releasing a joint statement.

The states previously sued the federal government on paused leases, and a judge earlier this month reportedly allowed the projects to move forward.

Last week, Sunrise Wind, which was approved in 2024, was on track for completion in the second half of 2027, Ørsted spokeswoman Meaghan Wims previously said.

The project's construction is roughly 40 percent complete, with 44 of 84 turbine foundations and its offshore substation installed, Wims said, citing Ørsted 's last earning's report.

Once complete, the project is set to power nearly 600,000 homes in New York.

Hochul has said that Sunrise Wind, along with Empire Wind, can power one million homes.

When asked if the states could pursue legal action again, Hochul's aide, Ken Lovett, a senior communications advisor on energy and environment, told Patch: "We are working with the other states and reviewing all our options."

In a similar statement on Monday, Ørsted's management said they are evaluating all their options for a resolution, which includes engagement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and other permitting agencies, as well as the evaluation of potential legal proceeding.

Wims declined further comment beyond the statement.

Patch has reached out to the White House's press office for comment.

On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said that President Donald Trump "has been clear: wind energy is the scam of the century."

"For years, Americans have been forced to pay billions more for the least reliable source of energy," she added. "The Trump administration has paused the construction of all large-scale offshore wind projects because our number one priority is to put America First and protect the national security of the American people.”

In a post to Twitter, Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that "due to national security concerns identified by the Department of War," his department is pausing the leases "for five expensive, unreliable, heavily-subsidized offshore wind farms," adding that "one natural gas pipeline supplies as much energy as these five projects combined."

He went on to say that the president is "bringing common sense back to energy policy and putting security first."

In their statement, Hochul and her colleagues called the pause "the latest egregious attack on clean energy, and it lands like a lump of dirty coal for the holiday season for American workers, consumers, and investors."

"Pausing active leases, especially for completed and nearly completed projects, defies logic, will hurt our bid for energy independence, will drive up costs for American ratepayers, and will make us lose thousands of good-paying jobs," they stated. "It also threatens grid reliability that is needed to keep the lights on."

“Atlantic states are working hard to build more energy to meet rising demand and lower costs," they stated. "Already, these projects have created thousands of jobs and injected billions in economic activity into our communities."

“This baseless, reckless, and erratic action from the Department of Interior will also inject further uncertainty into the markets, making it harder for states and private companies to secure financing for public works projects if investors know they can be stopped at any time despite having gone through all the necessary local and federal approval processes," the statement continued.

“A federal judge earlier this month ruled the Trump administration cannot simply halt federal approvals of offshore wind permits arbitrarily. We are committed as governors to again fight back to ensure these projects move forward and provide power, jobs, and grid reliability to our communities," the statement concluded.

Ørsted said staffers are complying with the order and "are taking appropriate steps to suspend related activities in a manner that prevents impacts on health, safety, and the environment."

The developers described both of their projects as being in "an advanced stage of construction" and that they "will be ready to deliver reliable, affordable power to homes in 2026."

Their statement went on to explain how the project is "fully permitted, having secured all required federal and state permits following comprehensive, years-long reviews."

As a requirement of the permitting process, they consulted closely and directly with the U.S Department of Defense's Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse to evaluate and address potential impacts to national security and defense capabilities from construction and operation of the Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects," the statement said.

Sunrise Wind has a 25-year power purchase agreement to deliver 924-megawatts to New York, and together with Revolution Wind, can power around one million homes across the three states of New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, according to Ørsted.

So far, Ørsted has invested in American energy generation, grid upgrades, port infrastructure, and a supply chain, including U.S. shipbuilding and manufacturing, extending to more than 40 states, the developer said.

Its two projects employ hundreds of local union workers supporting construction activities, their statement says, and the offshore wind projects have totaled around 4 million labor union hours to date, according to the developers.

The halt of the Long Island project also drew the ire of environmental groups that support wind farms as a clean energy source.

The Long Island-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment posted a photo of Dr. Seuss' Grinch tiptoeing across a wind farm field, while lambasting Trump for "recklessly" halting the five leases for the projects under construction.

"Two projects are nearly completed off Long Island: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1. These projects would power over a 1 [million] homes, employ [New Yorkers] and bring billions in benefits to communities," the post read.