Breaking: Trump drops opposition to major wind project off Long Island
An illustration of the wind installation vessel for Empire Wind, the $7 billion-plus offshore wind farm planned off Long Island. Credit: Maersk Supply Service
Daily Point
Winds changed
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 met.
— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com
Pencil Point
We The Maga
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Quick Points
Spreading the blame
- As many fellow Democrats blame former President Joe Biden for their loss in the 2024 presidential election, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said, "I think we all bear responsibility." Finally, a Democrat getting to the heart of it.
- Regarding his conversation Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war with Ukraine, President Donald Trump said, "He and I will meet, and I think we’ll solve it, or maybe not." It would be impossible not to meet that bar.
- After Walmart said it would raise prices because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Trump posted that Walmart should "EAT THE TARIFFS" and not hike prices. Not sure Trump the businessman would accept similar advice.
- President Donald Trump has compared the U.S. economy to a store and said, "I own the store." Surely, as a businessman, Trump knows that when you own the store you accept the responsibility.
- After coming up short in the Kentucky Derby, Journalism went back to work and wrote a better story, winning the Preakness Stakes. Now that’s a metaphor.
- All the analysis of the presence of sharks off the coast of Long Island this summer seems to boil down to one truth: There will be sharks.
— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com
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