“New Yorkers deserve clean, reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a government that follows the law,” James said. “This reckless decision puts workers, families, and our climate goals at risk.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its decision to suspend two major offshore wind projects.
According to The Associated Press, James claims that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to cancel the two Long Island projects for “national security” purposes was arbitrary and capricious. In a press release, James said that the Sunrise Wind and Empire projects have undergone a decade-long process of security and safety reviews by federal, state, and local officials.
“Before construction began, the projects underwent more than a decade of extensive review by federal, state, and local authorities, including environmental impact analysis, public comment periods, and coordination with numerous federal agencies, including the Department of Defense,” James’s office said in a press release. “Federal regulators repeatedly determined that the projects complied with all legal requirements and that any potential impacts, including national security considerations, could be addressed through mitigation measures that were formally incorporated into the projects’ approvals.”
Terminating the project, James says, could have a serious and detrimental impact on New York’s economy and energy grid.
“New Yorkers deserve clean, reliable energy, good-paying jobs, and a government that follows the law,” James said. “This reckless decision puts workers, families, and our climate goals at risk.”
The Associated Press notes that the two projects were canceled in a Department of the Interior order issued last month. The same order suspended three other offshore wind projects along the East Coast. In an official statement, a spokesperson for the department stated that the movement of large wind turbine blades can cause a type of radar interference termed “clutter,” which obscures moving targets and generates false hits.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul emphasized that the Department of the Interior’s decision runs contrary to the Trump administration’s mission of increasing American energy independence.
“New York will not back down in our fight for a clean energy future and I commend Attorney General James for taking this action to lift the unlawful stop work orders on New York’s two offshore wind projects under construction,” Hochul said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s incomprehensible obsession with shutting down these fully permitted projects lacks legal justification, hurts his stated goal of U.S. energy independence, and will cost New York thousands of jobs and needed power to keep the lights on and attract economic development opportunities. These unlawful actions cannot stand.”
The two private companies involved in the wind projects—Equinor and Sunrise Wind—have also filed lawsuits in response to the Department of the Interior’s order.
Sources
New York attorney general sues Trump administration over offshore wind project freeze
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