Tell Trump's Interior Sec: Stop Hiding the Empire Wind Study

In April of this year, Trump’s  Department of the Interior slammed the brakes on a major offshore wind project—Empire Wind—using a “scientific study” that the public isn’t allowed to see. In fact, they released the study nearly fully redacted with 27 entire pages blacked out.

This is outrageous. The 810-megawatt project off the coast of New York could power half a million homes with pollution-free electricity. It had all of its permits when Burgum issued a stop-work order citing a NOAA study that Burgum claims showed that the Biden Administration “rushed approval” of the project.  If that’s true, he needs to release the study.

The Department of the Interior allowed construction to move forward in May–but when faced with questions about his actions, the Interior Secretary continues to hide behind secrecy and red tape.  

Transparency matters. If there are legitimate environmental concerns, the public definitely has a right to know. Clean energy needs to be just that–clean and not harmful to wildlife or the ecosystems where these projects are sited. Hastening the biodiversity crisis to address the climate crisis is trading one disaster for another.

But if this is about politics and protecting fossil fuel interests, or if the project was used as an incentive for another part of Trump’s agenda, we have a right to know that. The Department of the Interior is not a bargaining chip for Trump to use in his “dealmaking.” It is tasked with making decisions based on science and the law.. 

Secretary Burgum claimed that “the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.” He needs to explain his decision and release the full, unredacted study immediately. Decisions about our climate future must be based on open science. 

Please sign the petition to tell Interior Secretary Burgum to release the NOAA study that he used as justification for halting Empire Wind I in April.

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Sources

https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/NOAA_Study_Empire_Wind.pdf

https://www.eenews.net/articles/trump-admin-redacts-entire-empire-wind-study-2/