Gov. Kathy Hochul got blown off by President Trump Monday.
The governor said she was blindsided by the Trump administration’s sudden suspension of two major offshore wind farms in federal waterways off the New York coast.
“We didn’t see this broadside attack coming,” Hochul said during a press briefing in Albany.
Hochul said she recently spoke to Trump about nuclear power development, and the looming decision on wind power never came up.
“He didn’t mention this,” she said.
The US Interior Department said it was immediately pausing leases for five renewable energy projects under construction nationwide, including Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind off the Long Island coast.
Interior Secretary Doug Burnum said the decision was made in order to address “emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers.”
The department said the suspension could be temporary.
“The Department of the Interior announced today that it is pausing—effective immediately—the leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States due to national security risks identified by the Department of War in recently completed classified reports,” it said in a statement.
“This pause will give the Department, along with the Department of War and other relevant government agencies, time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects,” it said.
The Sunrise Wind project — located roughly 30 miles off the coast of Montauk Point and expected to operate in 2027 — would be the largest offshore wind development in state history, powering nearly 600,000 homes.
It was being developed by Danish energy firm Orsted.
Empire Wind — developed by Norwegian-based Equinor — would connect to the grid via a substation at the South Brooklyn marine terminal and power more than 500,000 homes.
The turbines would be 15 miles off the southeast coast of Long Island.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Hochul’s Republican opponent for governor, has ripped the offshore wind farms near his turf as costly and damaging to marine life.
The president has also made clear he’s no fan of wind power, previously saying, “We’re not going to do the wind thing. Big, ugly windmills, they ruin your neighborhood.”
Hochul on Monday said she was “frustrated” by Trump blowing off wind power.
The “job-killing” suspension will put up to 2,600 positions tied to the wind farms at risk, she said.
Hochul also argued that wind power would make the US less reliant on foreign oil, help meet green energy mandates and control utility costs.
“I have a real question of what their definition of national security is all about,” she said.
The Trump administration in May lifted a prior stop-work order that threatened over 1,000 jobs at the Empire wind farm project — following appeals from Hochul and Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams.
“The Empire Wind 1 project is a win for our city, delivering thousands of good-paying jobs, thousands of megawatts of reliable power, and a cleaner future for New York City,” a rep for Adams said Monday.
“At a moment when Americans are deeply concerned about the cost of living, this ambitious project will help us deliver affordable energy to nearly 500,000 homes,” the statement said. “We are confident that this project is a safe, smart investment, which is why we have led on this project from the very beginning and will continue to advocate for it with our federal partners.”
Equinor spokesman David Schoetz said: “We are aware of the stop work order announced by the Department of Interior involving five wind projects under offshore construction in the US. We are evaluating the order and seeking further information from the federal government.”
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