Sale-and-purchase agreements for BP and Equinor’s offshore Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 have been finalised, setting the terms for the projects to supply New York with renewable power.
“[This] announcement sets Equinor and BP on the path to provide over 3.3 gigawatts of offshore wind power for New York. It also offers a large-scale, tangible demonstration of the incredible economic activity and carbon-reduction potential being driven by New York’s green energy transition,” Equinor Wind US president Siri Espedal Kindem said.
Empire Wind 2 will supply 1260 megawatts of power, while Beacon Wind 1 will supply 1230 MW, totalling almost 2.5 GW from the projects.
The projects intend to power about 2 million New York homes and help generate more than $1 billion in economic output to the state from investments in ports and infrastructure for the offshore wind industry.
The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal will become a staging and assembly facility for offshore wind in the region, as well as an operations and maintenance base for the projects. The Port of Albany will become the first offshore wind tower and transition piece manufacturing plant in the US.
The US offshore wind industry has been developing behind the European offshore wind industry, with little infrastructure ready to take on the high ambitions of the US government. BP and Equinor’s projects are part of a growing hub of offshore wind projects in the north-east that are building infrastructure in New York and New Jersey.
“These are world class assets and we are moving quickly and safely to get them producing the energy people need in the way that they want it — all the while creating positive ripple effects for the surrounding communities and industry,” Felipe Arbelaez, BP’s senior vice president for zero carbon energy, said.
“[This] milestone is a critical step forward and we will continue to work hard to deliver the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects, providing clean energy and stable returns for decades to come.”
