Wind Farm Halt An 'Egregious Attack' On Clean Energy, Landing Like 'Lump Of Dirty Coal' For Holidays: Hochul

SHIRLEY, NY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday joined with her colleagues in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to condemn a move by President Donald Trump's administration to reportedly halt work on five wind farms on the East Coast, including two on Long Island — Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind.

The office of Hochul, who lambasted the move on Twitter Monday, released a joint statement with Massachusetts' Gov. Maura Healey and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on Tuesday morning.

“The Trump administration’s announcement yesterday pausing offshore wind leases is its 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," the statement read.

The leases for Long Island's two projects were 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 the Vineyard Wind project in Massachusetts, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the outlet reported.

Ørsted, the developer of Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind, 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 in the wake of the news.

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

“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.

Patch has reached out to the press offices for the White House and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Ørsted's management said they are evaluating all their options for a resolution, including "engagement" with the federal government, and other permitting agencies, as well as "the evaluation of potential legal proceeding."

They said that 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 their projects as being in "an advanced stage of construction" and that the project "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 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.

As of last week, Sunrise Wind 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.

The state approved the project in 2024.

This story will be updated. Check back later.