The Trump administration lifted a month-old stop-work order on a major offshore wind facility planned off the coast of New York, the project's developer said on Monday.
Norwegian energy company Equinor said construction activities were allowed to resume on Empire Wind, a $5 billion project that is expected to one day provide power for half a million New York homes.
The reversal marks a critical reprieve for the offshore wind industry after Equinor had warned it stood to lose billions of dollars due to the order which sent shockwaves through the offshore wind industry, raising concerns that fully permitted developments representing billions in investment are not safe.
"I would like to thank President Trump for finding a solution that saves thousands of American jobs and provides for continued investments in energy infrastructure in the U.S.," Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement.
He also thanked Norway's leadership for raising the issue with the Trump administration. Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg met with the president in Washington last month.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was also instrumental in getting the project back on track, Opedal said.
Officials from the U.S. Interior Department, which issued the order last month, were not immediately available for comment.
Equinor said it would make an updated economic assessment in the second quarter, while aiming to proceed with offshore installation in 2025 and achieve commercial operation by 2027.
The Norwegian energy company, which had warned it was spending $50 million weekly to keep the project afloat during the suspension, will now work with suppliers and regulatory bodies to minimize impacts from the delay, it said.
Equinor purchased the Empire Wind lease during Trump's first administration in 2017, and the 810-megawatt project was approved under former President Joe Biden in 2023.
The project, which will use wind turbines from Vestas , is 30% complete, according to the company.
On April 16, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Equinor to halt construction, saying the Biden administration had rushed the project's approval without sufficient environmental analysis.
He cited concerns raised in an internal report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which assists the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in permitting offshore wind projects by assessing impacts on marine mammals and fisheries.
Trump has vowed to expand domestic energy production as part of his energy dominance agenda, but wind is excluded from that effort. He issued an executive order on his first day in office pausing new leasing and permitting of wind projects, which he says are ugly, expensive and harmful to wildlife.
An industry group praised the administration for lifting the stop-work order.
"The administration is clearing the way for major investments to move forward - activating American shipyards, creating high-quality jobs, and accelerating the buildout of infrastructure needed to deliver reliable, domestic energy to the East Coast," National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito said in a statement.
The United States has four operating offshore wind farms.
Aside from Empire Wind, another three are under construction. Two are owned by Denmark's Orsted: Sunrise Wind off the coast of New York and Revolution Wind off the coast of Rhode Island. Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is also underway.