Norway's Equinor slams 'unlawful' halt to US wind farm

OSLO, Norway: Norwegian energy giant Equinor said Wednesday the US decision to halt its New York offshore wind farm project was unlawful and warned that it was still weighing its legal options.

In mid-April, the US government ordered a halt to Equinor’s construction of the huge wind farm, dealing another blow to an industry President Donald Trump opposes.

Valued by Equinor at $2.5 billion, the Empire Wind 1 project includes 54 turbines designed to deliver 810 megawatts of energy into Brooklyn, powering 500,000 homes.

“We have invested in Empire Wind after obtaining all necessary approvals, and the order to halt work now is unprecedented and in our view unlawful,” Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal said in a quarterly earnings statement on Wednesday.

“We seek to engage directly with the US Administration to clarify the matter and are considering our legal options,” he said.

The US government has argued that former president Joe Biden’s administration “rushed through” approval of the project “without sufficient analysis”.

Opedal made the statement as Equinor reported that its net profit reached 2.63 billion kroner ($254 million) in the first quarter, down two percent from the same period a year ago.

Its adjusted operating income climbed by 15 percent to 8.65 billion kroner, beating analysts’ consensus forecast of 8.51 billion kroner.

“I am pleased to see the good operational performance and solid production capturing higher gas prices,” Opedal said in a statement.

“With the current market uncertainties, Equinor’s core objective is safe, stable and cost-efficient operations and resilience through a strong balance sheet,” he said.