Sunrise Wind 'Evaluating Options' After Feds Halt Wind Farm Project Off Shirley: Ørsted

SHIRLEY, NY — In the wake of a federal order to halt ongoing work on Sunrise Wind, its developers are evaluating all their options for a resolution — including engagement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and other permitting agencies, as well as the evaluation of potential legal proceeding, the developer, Ørsted, said in a statement on Monday.

The developer, which plans a wind farm off the coast of Shirley, was told by the bureau "to suspend all ongoing activities on the outer continental shelf" over the next 90 days, something that could be extended, according to the statement.

The developers 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 statement said.

The lease for the project was paused effective immediately 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 Wind off Long Beach, the Vineyard Wind project in Massachusetts, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the outlet reported.

In a post to Twitter, 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 President Donald Trump is "bringing common sense back to energy policy and putting security first."

As of last week, the project was on track for completion in the second half of 2027, Ørsted spokeswoman Meaghan Wims told Patch.

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 will power nearly 600,000 homes in New York.

Ørsted, in its statement on Monday, said staff is "evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously, together with its partners," which "includes engagement with BOEM and other permitting agencies, as well as the evaluation of potential legal proceedings."

The developers described Sunrise Wind as being in "an advanced stage of construction" and that the project "will be ready to deliver reliable, affordable power to homes in 2026."

The 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, Sunrise Wind "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 continued.

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.

News of the Trump administration's move drew the ire of Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as environmentalists.

In a post to Twitter, Hochul blasted Trump's administration, saying that its members "will look for any excuse to continue its assault on clean energy — and the thousands of good-paying jobs these projects bring — but there is no credible justification for this stoppage."

"The real threat to national security is in undermining our energy independence," she said.

Hochul says her office is working with "other impacted states to review every available option to get these projects back on track."

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.