New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Donald Trump administration's decision to freeze large-scale offshore wind energy projects. These include the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind facilities, which were intended to provide clean electricity to over 1.1 million homes. This is reported by AP, writes UNN.
Details
The U.S. Department of the Interior halted construction on December 22, citing national security concerns. The agency claims that the rotating turbine blades create radar interference ("noise") that interferes with the detection of real targets. In addition to technical claims, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized such stations, calling them a threat to nature and "ugly."
Letitia James called the decision arbitrary and reckless, noting that the projects had undergone decades of scrutiny. According to her, the freeze jeopardizes the state's energy stability and thousands of jobs.
Project readiness status
At the time of the suspension, the work was in an active stage:
- Empire Wind: located 22.5 km off Long Island, 60% complete. Developer - Norwegian company Equinor.
- Sunrise Wind: located 48 km off Montauk, 45% complete. Developer - Danish company Orsted.
New York is asking the court to overturn the order to halt construction, insisting that these facilities are critical to achieving the state's climate goals. The Department of the Interior has so far declined to comment.
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