Source: Crain’s

Date Published: 09.02.2025

Link: Hochul Urges Trump to Back Offshore Wind, Protect Clean Energy Job Boom

Governor Kathy Hochul and four other Northeast governors are pushing back against the Trump administration after it moved to halt or cancel several offshore wind projects, warning that undoing already-permitted developments will scare off investors and threaten thousands of clean energy jobs. Industry groups and developers say these sudden reversals damage investor confidence, risk billions in private capital, and jeopardize the rapid growth of New York’s clean energy sector, which hit a record 178,000 jobs last year. The governors argue that the uncertainty is already rippling through the offshore wind industry and could spill over into other sectors reliant on stable contracts and long-term investment. This is in response to: 

• Halted all new offshore wind leasing and suspended permits
• Cancelled $679m in federal funding for offshore wind infrastructure, including $48 million for a Staten Island facility
• Ordered const. to stop on the $6.2bn Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island
• Paused the $5bn Empire Wind project off Long Island before later allowing it to resume
• Rescinded designated offshore wind leasing zones and future leasing schedules
• Downgraded offshore wind’s priority in federal energy policy