There are mounting signs that Trump officials will face litigation over their decision to halt construction of Equinor's Empire Wind project off New York's coast.

Why it matters: The Interior Department's order is a major escalation of Trump 2.0's moves against offshore wind, which have already barred future leases and approvals.

• The stop-construction demand this week shows that Interior sees wide running room under President Trump's January memo targeting wind energy, which called for a review of permitting.

Driving the news: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Equinor hinted at going to court to allow the multibillion-dollar project to resume.

• "We're exploring all legal options on this," Paul DeMichele, a spokesperson for the governor's office, tells Axios via email.
• "Empire is engaging with relevant authorities to clarify this matter and is considering its legal remedies, including appealing the order," Equinor said in a statement yesterday that noted it's complying with the demand.

What they're saying: Five U.S. offshore wind projects are in some phase of construction, and some analysts vary on their peril based on work status.

• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum "seems to be pursuing a bifurcated approach to offshore wind," ClearView Energy Partners said in a note.
• Under that approach, the administration "will allow a few projects in advanced stages of development (i.e., significant construction completed) to move forward even as others — including fully permitted ones like Empire Wind — do not," ClearView said.

The other side: Burgum alleged major problems in Biden officials' analysis of Empire Wind en route to approving the project, and claimed they "rushed" it.

Yes, but: The research firm BloombergNEF, in a note, points out Empire spent 46.4 months in the federal permitting process.

• Their metric is time between a developer submitting a construction and operations plan and the Interior Department issuing a formal "record of decision."
• The average for 11 federally approved projects is 41.7 months, they found.
• A reminder that just one large-scale U.S. project is in operation thus far, while a number have been canceled or delayed.

What we're watching: Interior's review of what Burgum claimed — without details — are "serious deficiencies" in the Empire Wind approval process.

🚗 Breaking: DOT just formally repealed a Biden-era rule that required states and metro area planners to report greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and set reduction targets.

🧑‍⚖️ A federal appeals court has blocked — for now — a district judge's order that demanded release of some funds under a $20 billion climate grant program that EPA is trying to terminate.

• Catch up quick: The higher court has stayed Judge Tanya Chutkan's April 15 injunction. It's the latest step in a fast-moving court fight over one of the largest Biden-era grant programs.
• Friction point: EPA says the program was rife with abuses and poor oversight, but Chutkan has repeatedly written that EPA hasn't offered solid evidence backing up the claims. Go deeper via Utility Dive and the NYT.

✂️ Via the Wall Street Journal, "The Energy Department is preparing dramatic cuts that could halt nearly $10 billion in federal funding for clean-energy projects — and some of its highest profile partnerships with Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum are at stake."

⛏️ Via Reuters, "Ukraine said on Thursday Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump."

💼 Brad Crabtree, a senior Biden-era DOE official, just joined Exxon's low carbon business unit as senior director and global head of tech policy.

• Why it matters: Crabtree said via LinkedIn that he'll be "building and heading up a global policy team" focused on carbon capture, low-emissions hydrogen and power, critical minerals and more. (H/t E&E News.)
• The big picture: Exxon has been expanding its multibillion-dollar spending on climate tech projects, even as traditional fossil fuels remain its dominant business. The company is eyeing $30 billion worth of worldwide investments by 2030, which include projects with third-party customers and work to cut its own emissions.
• The bottom line: Exxon is adding policy muscle to its spending plans. Crabtree served as DOE's assistant secretary for fossil energy and carbon management under Biden. In September, it added Sasha Mackler, formerly of the Bipartisan Policy Center, as global head of strategic policy for its low carbon team.

🗳️ Nearly one-fourth of BP shareholders voted against the reelection of lame duck board chairman Helge Lund, who plans to leave in 2026, at the company's annual meeting yesterday.

• Catch up quick: BP recently pivoted back toward expanding oil and gas output and scaled back low carbon investment targets, and investors have competing views about the strategy shift. The FT has more on the vote.
• The bottom line: While it's still a minority of voters, the big tally against Lund signals investor discontent about BP, which has underperformed its rivals.

The number of canceled, closed or downsized low carbon energy manufacturing projects rose in Q1 2025, per the nonprofit group E2.

Why it matters: Part of the tally stems from "uncertainty" over Trump 2.0 policies and the fate of IRA tax credits in Congress, per the group that's affiliated with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

• But some of the pullback in EV, battery and other projects flows from other forces, like the collapse of long-struggling EV startup Canoo.

Go deeper: Axios Pro Deals' Alan Neuhauser reported exclusively on the data yesterday.

Talk to our sales team about Pro Deals for a steady diet of scoops and smart analysis.

New Mexico officials are trying to hang on to their climate goals as they fight President Trump's energy policies.

Why it matters: New Mexico is among the Democratic states trying to keep climate in the spotlight amid federal rollbacks and DOGE-driven cuts.

• It's a clean-energy battleground: It has lots of federal land with both a statewide clean energy law and a giant oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin.

The big picture: Freezes on IRA and infrastructure law money — and potential rollbacks of IRA credits — threaten New Mexico's renewable targets and efforts to plug orphaned oil and gas wells, state officials said Wednesday.

• "There has been a pullback on support of these large renewable energy projects. That really threatens all of the progress that New Mexico has made," said Stephanie Garcia Richard, state commissioner of public lands, at an Axios event in Santa Fe.

State of play: Garcia Richard said New Mexico has nearly 2,800 megawatts of renewables generation on state land, up from 400 MW when she started her term in 2019.

• That's driven by its 2019 Energy Transition Act, which requires 50% renewable energy statewide by 2030.

What we're watching: New Mexico has a dual challenge of keeping that buildout going as electricity demand rises and, eventually, reckoning with its reliance on a lucrative oil and gas industry.

• The state derives a large chunk of its budget from oil and gas revenue and is the nation's second-largest producer of crude oil.

Unlock the whole story, and if you need smart, quick intel on energy and climate policy for your job, get Axios Pro Policy.

That's the quick trip electric air taxi startup Archer envisions to bring people from Manhattan to nearby airports under its proposed network in partnership with United Airlines.

What we're watching: Archer, like competitor Joby Aviation, still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, Axios' Joann Muller notes.

• Archer has previously announced plans for networks in LA and San Francisco.

The bottom line: Electric passenger flight in U.S. cities is moving closer to reality.

Go deeper