Trump drops opposition to Long Island wind project after Hochul intervention

The stunning reversal on the $5 billion Empire Wind 1 project comes after intervention by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and just hours before Norwegian energy giant Equinor was to drop the project because of a Department of Interior order in April to halt construction, The Point has learned.

Hochul told The Point that in a series of late-night weekend calls, Trump was persuaded to change his mind to save union jobs, mostly in Brooklyn. The project is a major step toward decarbonizing energy generation for New York City. Trump’s opposition to wind and climate change mitigation had cast a pall over the future of offshore projects in the U.S.

“I got him to yes by emphasizing how important these 1,500 jobs were to his supporters,” the governor told The Point Monday morning. The head of Equinor, which is based in Norway, had told Hochul that the company was ready to decide later Monday to send to another location 11 ships waiting in Canada to construct the offshore platforms for the 54 turbines, effectively killing the New York project that is 30% complete.

Hochul said the administration’s reversal was not tied to any specific deal that required her to approve two interstate pipelines upstate that would bring more natural gas into New York and the Northeast. However, Hochul said Monday morning that she told Trump she is willing to approve the pipelines if all state and federal requirements were meet.

In February and March, Hochul went to the White House to ask Trump to change his mind about Empire Wind 1 but she didn't get very far. At a May 13 meeting with Newsday’s editorial board, Hochul said, “I got a whole description in the Oval Office, sitting right there, of how the turbines grind up the birds, and it's disgusting, and we shouldn't let that happen ... So I don't know what argument can be made to counter that," she said.

She added that Trump described turbines in the North Atlantic near his golf course in Scotland as "very offensive" and that he said the turbines "would be all rusty and decrepit in 10 years from the salt."

But she told the board that she was still asking Equinor to hold off on cancelling the project so she could make one more attempt to persuade Trump, saying, “I’m not optimistic.” Just two days earlier, she had spoken with Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal and “pleaded [to] give me a week.” During the meeting with Newsday’s board, she checked her phone but there wasn’t any message from Trump. “Now he’s in the Middle East,” she said.

Here’s what came next.

Friday, May 16, 9:08 p.m.: Trump returns, wheels down, from the Middle East trip where he sought deals from Arab nations.

Saturday, 9 p.m.: Trump calls Hochul to discuss the wind project and appears more open to changing his mind.

Saturday, around 10:30 p.m.: Trump calls back, this time with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the line. Burgum had visited Equinor’s Brooklyn facility on May 8, according to an Interior Department press release which said he “participated in a discussion with energy executives to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the natural gas industry.”

Saturday, around 11 p.m.: Hochul calls Equinor’s Opedal. Acknowledging the six-hour time difference, the governor says she apologized for disturbing him in the middle in the night. Opedal tells her he wasn’t getting sleep anyhow as he wrestled with the decision to pull out of the Empire Wind project possibly as early as Monday.

Hochul did not provide any details as to what messages she might have communicated as the intermediary between the Trump administration and Equinor, which is majority owned by the Norwegian government.

Sunday, around 9:30 a.m.: Trump calls Hochul for the third time to confirm the deal and tell the governor Burgum would be sending an official communication to Equinor that the stop-work order was being lifted.

At that Newsday meeting on May 13, when Hochul was asked whether there was a “deal” underway with the White House to lift the stop-work order in exchange for New York approving two pipelines, she replied: “There’s no deal on the table.”

On Monday, she said there was still no quid pro quo. She described telling Trump and Burgum, “I’m willing to move forward if they meet our requirements” to get the necessary permits to approve the pipelines. She did not discuss the likely political opposition from some environmental activists about new pipelines for natural gas.

Monday, 6 p.m.: Hochul releases a statement:

“I knew this critical project needed to move forward and have spent weeks pushing the federal government to rescind the stop work order to allow the workers to return and ensure this important source of renewable power could come to fruition.

After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary Burgum have agreed to lift the stop work order and allow this project to move forward. Now, Equinor will resume the construction of this fully-permitted project that had already received the necessary federal approvals. I also reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law. In order to ensure reliability and affordability for consumers, we will be working in earnest to deliver on these objectives.

I want to thank President Trump for his willingness to work with me to save the 1,500 good paying union jobs that were on the line and helping get this essential project back on track.

New York’s economic future is going to be powered by abundant, clean energy that helps our homes and businesses thrive. I fought to save clean energy jobs in New York — and we got it done.”