March 14, 2024 — Energy firm Equinor on Wednesday announced the first Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval for an offshore wind project to connect directly into the New York City transmission system.
FERC on March 1 approved the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA) executed between the company’s Empire Wind 1 project, New York ISO (NYISO) and Consolidated Edison Co, Equinor said in a release.
March 2, 2024 — The Interior Department is failing to protect scallop fisheries in the mid-Atlantic from what could be a boom in offshore wind, according to industry workers in the New York region.
The criticism came after the release of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s draft analysis of the possibility of an estimated 1,000 offshore wind turbines in the New York Bight, a shallow wedge of ocean between the state and New Jersey. The area is being eyed for several offshore wind farms because of leases sold by the Biden administration in 2022.
“It is beyond reasonable dispute [that] the scallop fishery will be the most adversely affected fishery from wind development in the New York Bight,” the Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents scallop fishermen, wrote in a Monday letter to the agency.
March 2, 2024 — New York officials on Thursday awarded conditional contracts to buy electricity from two proposed offshore wind projects under a program meant to support the embattled industry and keep the state’s ambitious clean energy goals on track.
The state said it had selected the Empire Wind 1 project from Norway’s Equinor (EQNR.OL), opens new tab and the Sunrise Wind facility being developed by Denmark’s Orsted (ORSTED.CO), opens new tab and U.S. power provider Eversource
Once completed, the projects will produce enough electricity to power 1 million homes, the state said. They will be the largest electricity generation projects built in the state in nearly four decades.
The solicitation by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) was being closely watched because it allowed companies to exit old contracts and re-offer projects at higher prices.
February 24, 2024 — Equinor’s construction and operations plan (COP) for the Empire Wind off New York was approved Feb. 22 by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, the final permitting for a two-stage project with a potential maximum capacity of 2,706 megawatts.
“We are proud to announce BOEM’s final approval of the Empire Wind offshore wind project,” said agency Director Elizabeth Klein. “This project represents a major milestone in our efforts to expand clean energy production and combat climate change. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to advancing offshore wind projects like Empire Wind to create jobs, drive economic growth, and cut harmful climate pollution.”
The approval comes amid continued tumult and repositioning by offshore wind power developers. In late January Equinor and bp announced they would split their joint ventures, with Equinor taking full ownership of the Empire Wind 1 and 2 projects, and bp assuming full ownership of the Beacon Wind project. Equinor said it is rebidding the 810-megawatt Empire Wind 1 project into New York’s fourth solicitation.
Like other wind power companies, Equinor is seeking better power payment terms in the face of rising cost
February 24, 2024 — U.S. officials on Thursday gave Norway’s Equinor (EQNR.OL), approval to start building a massive offshore wind farm off the coast of New York, a positive milestone for a project that has faced soaring costs and does not have a power supply contract.
The plan approved by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management includes construction and operation of both the Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 facilities, which could power more than 700,000 homes annually once built.
“We are ready to get to work,” Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas, said in a statement.
The offshore wind industry is expected to play a key role in helping the U.S. and states including New York meet their goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.
Equinor said construction of Empire Wind is on track to start later this year, and the project could start delivering power to New York by 2026.
Read the full article at Reuters
February 22, 2024 — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Clean Air Act permit for Empire Offshore Wind LLC. The offshore wind farm will be in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf about 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles) south of Long Island, NY and 17 nautical miles (19.6 miles) east of Long Branch, NJ. To ensure transparency, EPA sought and received public comment before the permit was finalized.
“EPA is happy to partner with New York state in leading the way to a clean energy future. When built, this project is expected to generate more than 2,000 megawatts of electrical power for New York State—enough to power as many as a million homes,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This project is part of a larger effort by the Biden Administration to invest in America and generate 30 gigawatts of clean, abundant energy from offshore wind by 2030.”
January 25, 2024 — Several offshore wind developers will likely bid in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation by the Thursday deadline, including units of European energy firms Orsted (ORSTED.CO), Equinor and BP (BP.L).
The development of the U.S. offshore wind industry took a major blow last year when companies working in several states said they could no longer complete projects profitably because of rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags. The problems also hit the wind industry in other countries.
The development of the industry is key to meeting both U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. state-level clean energy targets. To prevent the projects from falling through, some state governments including New York have agreed to allow developers to rebid their projects at higher levels.
Orsted, Equinor and BP already have contracts to sell power in New York from offshore wind farms, but are expected to drop at least some of those old contracts in favor of new deals at higher power prices.
January 25, 2024 — Orsted (ORSTED.CO), has signed an agreement with Eversource Energy (ES.N), to acquire full ownership of U.S. offshore wind farm Sunrise Wind, months after the Danish energy company halted development of some offshore wind projects in the country.
The company did not provide financial details for Wednesday’s acquisition of Eversource’s 50% stake in Sunrise Wind, a 924 MW offshore wind farm which would deliver power to New York.
Orsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind developer, halted the development of two U.S. offshore wind projects last year and said related impairments had surged above $5 billion.
The acquisition is subject to the ongoing New York 4 solicitation for offshore wind capacity and signing of a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the company said.
The 50-50 joint venture for Sunrise Wind will remain in place if the approval is not granted.
January 16, 2024 — Mike Tehan pilots a fishing boat called Nibbles out of Shelter Island. An hour before sunrise on the first day of scallop season in November, as he unwound the ropes, started the outboard motor and piloted the 25-foot fiberglass boat from an island cove into the open waters of Peconic Bay, Mr. Tehan knew just what he’d find.
“I didn’t come out here with big plans to get rich today,” he said. “You can’t say it’s depressing, because you already know. But you hope.”
He bashed north against the waves, toward the protected bay off Orient, at the far northeast corner of Long Island. He dropped four rusty dredges into the water, just as the bay turned pink with sunrise. He let the outboard rumble the boat around for five minutes. Then he pulled the dredges back up and dumped the contents into a sorting tray.
January 7, 2024 — Developers behind a proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of Long Island have terminated their contract on the project. Energy firms Equinor and BP said it is no longer financially feasible.
The project was expected to generate more than one gigawatt of electricity, or enough to power at least 800,000 homes. The state is now expected to reopen the bidding process for the project at the end of the month.
Pete Sikora, the climate campaigns director for the advocacy group, New York Communities for Change joined Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” to talk about the project and more. “Offshore wind is not moving forward as fast as it should…These offshore wind projects are absolutely necessary, they need to be put into place and they need to be done fast under the governor,” Sikora said.