by Thomas Catenacci
Washington Free Beacon
New York has some of the nation’s highest electricity prices, but hasn’t built new fossil fuel infrastructure in years
President Donald Trump ordered his administration to lift an April stop work order halting a massive offshore wind farm being constructed off the coast of New York in exchange for the advancement of two natural gas pipeline projects, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum struck the deal over the weekend during a phone call with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D.), a senior White House official told the Free Beacon on Tuesday. Following that call, on Monday, the Interior Department formally removed its order halting foreign energy developer Equinor’s $5 billion Empire Wind project, which is being built about 12 nautical miles south of Long Island, N.Y., and consists of dozens of turbines…
And the details of the deal could assuage concerns that opponents of offshore wind development expressed after the Empire Wind stop work order was lifted Monday. Critics have argued the project will have devastating consequences for marine wildlife and the fishing industry in New York.
“It’s terribly disappointing,” Steve Milloy, a senior legal fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, told the Free Beacon in an interview. “Trump has had nothing but negative things to say about offshore wind. He hates it. So, this is quite a shock.”
