The Interior Department is halting an offshore wind project approved by the Biden administration as President Trump has called for “a policy where no windmills are being built.”

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said he is directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to “immediately halt all construction activities” on the Empire Wind 1 project.

This project was approved in late 2023 and is being built off the coast of Long Island, N.Y.

Trump has long-opposed wind power, complaining about impacts to birds and views and even baselessly claiming in 2019 that wind power noise can cause cancer. 

On his first day in office, he issued an executive order that barred the government from auctioning off the rights to build wind farms offshore and also temporarily blocked new rights for wind on public lands.

But this week’s move is an even further escalation, targeting a project that has already been approved. 

Burgum, in his post, said that the project was being halted “until further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.”

He did not elaborate on what this “information” is, and the Interior Department did not immediately respond to questions from The Hill.

While it has opposed wind, the Trump administration has sought to fast-track fossil fuel projects, issuing an order last week that sought to exempt coal projects from environmental reviews.

He has also declared that there is a national energy emergency and has said he would use his presidential power to bolster energy production.

When completed, Empire Wind 1 would be expected to deliver 810 megawatts of power into Brooklyn, enough to power 500,000 New York homes, according to the project’s website.

In a written statement, a spokesperson for Equinor, the company behind the project, acknowledged the Trump administration’s notification, but declined to comment on the specifics. 

“We have just received a notification from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding our Empire Wind 1 project, which has been in construction since 2024. We will engage directly with BOEM and the Department of Interior to understand the questions raised about the permits we have received from authorities. We will not comment about the potential consequences until we know more,” the spokesperson said.