Jordanville, New York, August 10, 2026
Photo: jordanville.org
The Trump administration is throwing its support behind the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia’s Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, in its fight against a proposed wind farm the Orthodox monastery says would encircle its property and disrupt its peaceful setting.
A USDA spokesman told Heartlander News that “the Trump USDA stands with Holy Trinity Monastery as they work to protect this historic property from foreign-owned wind projects.” Terra-Gen LLC, the company behind the proposed Rolling Hills wind project, is jointly owned by Masdar, the United Arab Emirates’ state-backed green energy company, and Igneo Infrastructure Partners, a global investment manager.
“The Trump Administration has been crystal clear that we should not be reliant on unaffordable, unreliable energy sources as we work to assert the President’s Energy Dominance Agenda,” the USDA spokesman said.
“It would nearly encircle us,” His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse, abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery, said. “People come very frequently to their loved ones in the cemetery, and they’ll ask us to do a special memorial service. And they stand there, with the grave and the cross… and these monstrosities.” About 4,000 people are buried on monastery grounds, and pilgrims come from Europe, Canada, and South America to visit.
Holy Trinity Monastery has been on the National Register of Historic Places for 15 years, and Archimandrite Nektarios, the monastery’s business manager, argues that status should offer some protection. Church officials also worry that a 2024 expansion of the authority of New York’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting has weakened local communities’ say over projects like Rolling Hills, since the office now holds final say over permits.
The monastery is pushing back on multiple fronts, working with attorneys, elected officials, and federal agencies while building community support. It’s circulating a petition that has drawn more than 11,700 signatures, and it hosted a conference on Saturday, organized by Stop Energy Sprawl, focused on stopping the project.
Craig Rucker, president of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, says the monastery’s fight speaks to a bigger national debate. “For nearly a century this sacred site has offered peace, prayer, and pilgrimage,” he says. “Communities and faith institutions should not be sacrificed for unreliable energy sprawl.”
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