Construction Allowed To Resume On Empire Wind Farm Off Long Branch

LONG BRANCH, NJ — In what's becoming a never-ending game of stop/start, Empire Wind announced Thursday a judge allowed them to resume construction on their wind farm being built 19 miles off Long Branch.

On Jan. 15, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Empire Offshore Wind LLC a preliminary injunction that allows construction to start back up.

On Jan. 2, parent company Equinor filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's new order pausing all offshore wind farms in the United States. On Dec. 22, the Trump administration ordered a pause on all offshore wind farms off the East Coast, including Vineyard Wind off Martha's Vineyard and Sunrise Wind off Rhode Island. The federal government said movement of the massive turbine blades and highly reflective towers can interfere with U.S. military radar.

A federal judge ruled this week construction will be allowed to resume while the case is resolved in the courts.

Empire Wind is owned by Norwegian renewable energy company Equinor, which is owned by the Kingdom of Norway. Equinor said it already invested $4 billion in the project, and Empire Wind is about 60 percent complete.

Empire Wind is the first and only wind farm off New Jersey to actually begin construction. They started installing monopiles into the ocean floor in July and August; see photos of how the wind farm site looks.

All the power generated by Empire Wind will go to New York state; it will not go to New Jersey homes.

Empire Wind Farm 19 Miles Off Long Branch Is '40 Percent Complete,' Company Says; See Photos Of How Wind Farm Site Looks (August 2025)