The Trump administration halted construction of offshore wind projects. This puts the brakes on a project near Long Branch. Last year, the federal government gave its approval for the offshore wind project - Empire Wind 1 and 2 - which went into construction earlier this month. As of Wednesday, the project is on pause. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management got word to put the brakes on the Empire project from the Department of Interior, pending review to “address these serious deficiencies.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Equinor said in part, “We will engage directly with BOEM and the Department of Interior to understand the questions raised about the permits we have received from authorities. “ A letter to the BOEM from Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum states the project was rushed through by the Biden administration without sufficient analysis or consultation. A Jan. 20 executive order from President Donald Trump ordered a temporary withdrawal of all areas on the outer continental shelf from offshore wind leasing and review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind projects The projects, owned by Equinor, a Norwegian oil and gas company, planned for over 140 offshore wind turbines to be built some 15 miles from Long Branch.