Monday, May 19, 2025
Oh, what a whirlwind it’s been.
For nearly three years, talk of Equinor’s wind projects bringing turbines, cables and battery storage centers in and off the shore of Long Beach has been met with seemingly constant rallies and protests. Now, it seems the loud opposition may not be needed anymore.
Equinor, the multinational energy company headquartered in Norway, announced on April 17 that it was suspending all offshore construction for the Empire Wind projects.
“In accordance with a halt work order issued by the US government, Empire Offshore Wind LLC (Empire) will safely halt the offshore construction in waters of the outer continental shelf for the Empire Wind project,” the company’s statement read. “On April 16, Empire received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), ordering Empire to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order.”
President Trump had issued an executive order on the first day of his second term that paused all new wind energy projects that would use federal waterways.
Glen Head residents Chris Panzeca, Rob Mazzella and Doug Augenthaler have been outspoken critics of offshore wind turbines and other renewable energy projects on Long Island.
The three described Equinor's decision as a “win for Long Island.” Panzca, Mazzella, and Augenthaler have been critical of not only wind turbine projects such as Equinor’s but also the lithium-ion battery facilities that would store the energy they produce.
“We’re being treated like dots on a map,” Panzeca said in an interview after the project's halting. “We don’t want to be a part of a science project.”
Equinor originally planned two projects, Empire Wind 1 and 2, in which it would have constructed a total of 147 wind turbines, each 886 feet tall, as well as the stations housing the cables that transfer energy from the turbines to land, all 15 to 35 miles offshore. Empire Wind 1 was slated to supply power to the Brooklyn area, and Empire Wind 2 would deliver power to the grid in Nassau County and connect to the E.F. Barrett Power Station in Island Park.
Equinor and BP announced that the agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on Empire Wind 2 had been scrapped in January 2024, but Empire Wind 1 received final approval by the state’s Public Service Commission last May.
“The federal lease for Empire Wind was signed with the US Administration in 2017,” Equinor’s release last week read. “Empire Wind 1 has validly secured all necessary federal and state permits and is currently under construction. The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to provide an important new source of electricity for the State of New York. The construction phase has put more than 1,500 people to work in the US. Empire Wind 1 has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes. Empire is complying with the order affecting project activities for Empire Wind. Upon receipt of the order, immediate steps were taken by Empire and its contractors to initiate suspension of relevant marine activities, ensuring the safety of workers and the environment.”
The rallies continued up until the day before Equinor’s announcement of the suspension, with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, other elected officials and community members gathering behind the Long Beach Fire Department station on West Park Avenue on April 16.
“These wind turbines are killing birds and killing whales and create environmental hazards,” Blakeman said at a news conference that day. “There’s oil and diesel fuel with each and every one, and that fuel could escape. There could be a collision, there could be a leak of some kind, and pollute all of our beaches. And then, on top of that, these battery storages are the size of buildings.”
Christina Kramer, a Long Beach resident and the founder and president of Protect Our Coast LINY, is among the many community members who have been adamantly opposed to wind turbine projects since their inception. She and her group have been at the forefront of many of the rallies.
“Protect Our Coast LINY is cautiously optimistic,” Kramer said in a direct message. “We understand this is a pause, pending investigation. We are confident that Equinor’s own environmental impact statements will reveal what a destructive fraud this project and all offshore wind projects were from the start. We hope this is the first of many or all offshore wind cancellations.
“More importantly, we hope to cancel the offshore wind infrastructure throughout Long Island and New York State,” Kramer added. “Battery energy storage systems and Propel NY’s high-voltage cables should not be forced down the throats of New York State residents, using our tax dollars, putting our health and safety last and prioritizing profits for huge data centers for private equity investors in upstate New York.”
