A long time ago, when the Earth was green,
There were more offshore wind farms planned than you could ever dream.
Cats, rats - oh, no, an elephant!
And sure as you were born!
Along came an Orange Man,
To stomp their unicorns.
~ with apologies to The Irish Rovers
Ah, how the words of the song ring true, though.
In the halcyon days of POTATUS, when all the world was green, both from grifting and the federal dollars feeding it, offshore wind farms were the fertile fields everyone wanted to plough in, rhetorically speaking, of course.
In spite of the evidence right in front of their eyes and in the monthly electric bills arriving in shocked rate-payers' mailboxes every month, the fairytale narrative continued.
More affordable!
Better for the planet!
Better for everyone involved's bank accounts!
And then Donald Trump was elected, who, nearly the second he took office, did exactly what he had promised while campaigning - he issued an executive order in April of 2025 shutting down the offshore wind projects that were threatening to spring to life up and down the East Coast of the United States like gigantic, malevolent porcupine needles with spinning blades of death attached.
Just as construction was starting on a massive wind farm off the coast of Long Island, the Trump administration ordered an immediate halt on Wednesday that could spell a serious setback for hopes of powering New York City with offshore wind.
Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, called for the cessation of “all construction activities” on the Empire Wind project, which was designed to provide enough electricity to power about 500,000 homes in New York.
On the first day of his new term in office, President Trump signed an executive order that limited the approval of offshore wind farms. But Empire Wind had already received all of the permits it needed to get underway.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Mr. Burgum said the halt would allow for “further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.”
New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, quickly responded that she would “fight this decision every step of the way.” She called the secretary’s move a “federal overreach” that she would not allow to stand.
Empire Wind, a huge farm in the early stages of construction, was one of those affected and was New York's accidental idiot Governor Kathy 'Daffy' Hochul's particular baby.
After a frantic month of begging amid the infamous Trump deal-making, there emerged what we thought was a gobsmacking reversal on the part of the Trump administration. The ban on Empire Wind was lifted, and those ugly things could go in the water.
“Thousands of jobs. Hundreds of thousands of homes powered by clean energy. That’s what Empire Wind 1 was poised to deliver until a stop work order was issued on April 16 by the Department of Interior. I knew this critical project needed to move forward and have spent weeks pushing the federal government to rescind the stop work order to allow the workers to return and ensure this important source of renewable power could come to fruition.
“After countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials, bringing labor and business to the table to emphasize the importance of this project, I’m pleased that President Trump and Secretary Burgum have agreed to lift the stop work order and allow this project to move forward. Now, Equinor will resume the construction of this fully-permitted project that had already received the necessary federal approvals. I also reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law. In order to ensure reliability and affordability for consumers, we will be working in earnest to deliver on these objectives.
“I want to thank President Trump for his willingness to work with me to save the 1,500 good paying union jobs that were on the line and helping get this essential project back on track.
“New York’s economic future is going to be powered by abundant, clean energy that helps our homes and businesses thrive. I fought to save clean energy jobs in New York — and we got it done.”
The rest of us smelled a quid pro quo - surely Hochul had to have given up something. And it turned out, she had.
The agreement to allow two - count 'em, TWO - long blocked natural gas pipelines to be built through the state. Even though Hochul's denials were vociferous, those were meant for public consumption.
No one believed a word.
Sure seems like the Constitution natural gas pipeline — effectively rejected by the Cuomo administration — is potentially back on the table.
— Jon Campbell (@JonCampbellNY) May 19, 2025
But it sure looked like relief was finally in sight.
“Fast-track construction of the Constitution Pipeline. This project will bring #naturalgas from Pennsylvania into upstate New York and New England, and offer a reliable, affordable energy source to millions.”https://t.co/XAIlXPfHvm
— Marcellus Shale (@MarcellusGas) August 2, 2025
Six months into the agreement, as Empire Wind continued to plod along, electric rates in New York were looking at double-digit increases, with the New York State Public Utility Commission revealing that some utilities were asking for as much as a 44% increase in their delivery rate charges for the upcoming year.
GULP
On the pipeline front, there actually had been movement on one pipeline.
Hochul pulled a double-cross on the second, larger one, which had been headed to New England, but she blamed the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. Because, of course, a governor has no influence over their decisions.
Of course.
...Hochul may have already taken one more step towards screwing New Yorkers over. In the headlines today, I have a story about a natural gas pipeline that New York just approved.
One pipeline.
Hochul did it under duress and claims she's 'at war' with the Trump administration over energy policy. This pipeline was part of the deal that released the hold the Interior Department had on her Empire Wind offshore farm project.
New York environmental regulators on Friday approved a major Trump-backed underwater gas pipeline in a U-turn for state energy policy.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued crucial water permits for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which it had rejected three times in the past.
At the same time, the DEC announced that the even larger Constitution pipeline, slated to cross New York into New England, would not move ahead. Both pipelines were priorities for President Donald Trump, who railed against Governor Kathy Hochul on social media earlier this week for moving too slowly on the projects.
Hochul said she stood by the DEC’s decisions.
New York State and the Trump administration have been at loggerheads ever since over an imperial, virtue-signalling Mario Cuomo sleight of hand that is killing his New England neighbours financially for absolutely no benefit environmentally.
10 years ago, Governor Cuomo killed the Constitution Pipeline by denying a routine Clean Water Act permit that would've carried cheap Pennsylvania natural gas through Albany and on to New England.
— Brandon Fuller (@fuller_brandon) June 8, 2026
Cuomo has been gone since 2021. The blockade isn't. Six states are still paying…
...Cuomo has been gone since 2021. The blockade isn't. Six states are still paying the price. Great piece from @ManhattanInst's @PolicyEngineer in @BostonGlobe
https://bostonglobe.com/2026/06/04/opinion/andrew-cuomo-pipeline-new-england/
The absurdity? The gas still moves. It gets trucked north in "virtual pipelines" at a premium. Upstate NY plants burn it to sell power to Quebec. Quebec turns around and sells electricity back to New England.
Everyone pays more. This past winter, MA customers paid about 80% more for natural gas than their counterparts in PA.
Crazier still: New England retired its coal plants on the promise that cleaner natural gas would replace them. But with NY choking off the supply, the region's "fuel-switching" plants now fall back on oil. During January's deep freeze, New England burned oil for 40%+ of its electricity.
Congress should stop letting NY weaponize the Clean Water Act to veto energy infrastructure an entire region depends on. A permit meant to make sure developers dig carefully around creek beds was never supposed to be a six-state energy blockade. End it.
And now it's going to be a full-court press against Hochul.
Trump let it rip last night as he and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Lee Zeldin prepared to board Air Force One.
SHE MADE A DEAL WITH HER, AND SHE BROKE THE DEAL
.@POTUS is 100% right to call out NY Gov. Hochul for holding construction of the Constitution Pipeline hostage. Every American deserves access to affordable/reliable energy. 👇
— Fmr. Rep. Jason Isaac (@ISAACforEnergy) June 9, 2026
"She made a deal with us to allow us to build it, and she’s holding it up." pic.twitter.com/VzKPNNrKOC
'...She gave us two for a couple of windmills, and I guess she likes windmills, which is a big mistake. But she gave us two and we made the deal, so I guess we're withdrawing those windmills...'
Zeldin doubled down on the issue during a visit to Binghamton.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is calling on New York to lift its ban on natural gas extraction, saying a proposed pipeline from Pennsylvania would lower energy costs across New England. Protesters, however, urged state leaders to keep the ban in place.
— One America News (@OANN) June 9, 2026
Watch OAN on Spectrum and… pic.twitter.com/WWJvTVCCrG
Protestors made the event raucous, but folks in that neck of the woods were ready to listen, as are, I will bet, many of the people getting hit with those electricity tabs for buying Canadian juice in New England.
Zeldin is also pushing the state to move forward with the controversial Constitution Pipeline project.
It’s a 125-mile-long pipeline that would transport fracked natural gas from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, to Schoharie County, New York, passing through Broome, Chenango and Delaware counties.
“It’s better for our environment and to be able to build this pipeline and create the jobs that come with it,” Zeldin said. The benefits from the environment to the economy are so strong.”
The EPA administrator said transporting gas through this pipeline would be an upgrade over doing it by truck or by train, providing financial stability in the process.
“When you tap into resources here, when you build these pipelines, these are jobs, good-paying jobs,” Zeldin said. “It helps with revenue for local communities. There’s a benefit for the state fiscally.”
And New England Independent System Operator (ISO) loads are already starting to climb, and so are the natgas shipments to produce the power.
“Fast-track construction of the Constitution Pipeline. This project will bring #naturalgas from Pennsylvania into upstate New York and New England, and offer a reliable, affordable energy source to millions.”https://t.co/XAIlXPfHvm
— Marcellus Shale (@MarcellusGas) August 2, 2025
Ah, summer heat is building in.
Net New England pipeline demand surged +553 to a fresh recent high of 2,469 MMcf/d, with Connecticut (+294) and Massachusetts (+223) driving the bulk of the move as cooling load builds. Early-cycle nominations in the region have historically overstated the final print, so the day… pic.twitter.com/il4QlQuiFm
— Criterion Research (@PipelineFlows) June 8, 2026
The time-honoured summer pastimes of baseball, weekends at the lake, hot dogs, and watching that meter spin.
If you're in New England and the hands fly off the meter from the torque or digitally spin by so fast you can't even read them?
Thank a Hochul.
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