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The United States has interrupted an offshore wind project of $ 5 billion that the Norway Equaire is developing, having a blow to the seated renewable energies sector and signaling a new aggressive push against clean energy initiatives.
Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, ordered the Equinor to “immediately stop all construction activities” on his Wind 810 Megawatt Empire project off the city of New York, accusing the previous administration of Biden of a precipitated and insufficient analysis when she approved the group's plans.
The decision to suspend the project marks the latest climbing of the Trump administration’s offensive against the country's offshore wind sector, which prompted leading developers, including Shell and Totoralgia, to reduce or slow down their American companies.
President Donald Trump, in January, took an offshore wind power break and ordered an examination of the projects already approved.
The Biden Administration approved the Empire Wind project in November 2023. The project, which began construction last year and promises to create 1,000 jobs, is one of the biggest projects approved by the federal government and would be the greatest development of the offshore wind to serve New York. Equinor said that he would “engage” with the Interior Department “to understand the questions raised about the permits we have received from the authorities”.
Unlike other renewable energy projects, the American offshore wind sector is based on the federal government to allow approvals. More than 90% of offshore wind projects provided by the country, totaling more than 60 gigawatts, were “at serious risks,” said Council Rystad Energy.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has promised to “fight” the Trump administration's decision. “I will not allow this federal exercise to stand up,” she said in a statement. The state has set itself the aim of generating at least 70% of its electricity from renewable energies by 2030, a target difficult to reach without offshore wind.
The Trump Administration attacks against the offshore wind exacerbates the last two years of economic challenges with which the sector is confronted, which has been struck by more than two years of high interest rate and inflation.
Clean energy leaders and analysts have warned that Trump's attacks on offshore wind constitute a threat to the American electrical network, which is experiencing a historic increase in the demand for electricity of permanence and the race to lead in artificial intelligence.
A federal break on an already approved project could also create a precedent for projects in the energy sector and send a negative signal to the stability of the United States as a commercial preventing, they warn.
The Oceantic Network, a non -profit organization, estimates that more than $ 40 billion has been invested in the American offshore wind sector. European companies support more than half of the advanced American offshore wind projects, according to Bloombergnef.
“The doubling of the permits to reconsider once the projects under construction sends a scary signal to all energy investments,” said Jason Grumet, Managing Director of American Clean Power, a clean energy group,
“These political inversions are bad policy, whether applied to pipelines or wind farms.”
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