Equinor today announced that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved on March 1 the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA) executed between the company’s Empire Wind 1 project, New York ISO (NYISO) and Consolidated Edison Company of New York. The announcement marks the first FERC approval for any offshore wind project to connect directly into the New York City transmission system.
FERC’s approval allows the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project to connect through the Sunset Park Onshore Substation at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into the New York City electrical grid at Con Edison’s Gowanus substation, delivering 810 megawatts of reliable renewable power.
“The execution of the LGIA is a key milestone for Empire Wind and for New York City,” said Teddy Muhlfelder, vice president of Equinor Renewables Americas. “This federal approval marks the culmination of a years-long process under NYISO and is another important step in allowing Equinor to advance a project that will connect offshore renewable power to Brooklyn and into hundreds of thousands of New York homes.”
“Con Edison is building the grid of the future to provide our customers with reliable, renewable, clean energy,” said Walter Alvarado, vice president, Con Edison System and Transmission Operation. “We are pleased to continue our work with the team from Empire Wind 1 to connect this project to our grid and bring the first offshore wind energy to our customers in New York City.”
This announcement is the latest in a series of critical achievements for Empire Wind 1, which was selected as a provisional winner in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation (NY4) on February 29. The project also received approval of its federal Construction and Operations Plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last month, and the New York Public Service Commission issued the project’s Article VII Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in December 2023.
Empire Wind stands to play a critical role in establishing New York as a world-class hub for the offshore wind industry, including the transformation of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into an offshore wind industry assembly facility, as well as an operations and maintenance (O&M) base.
The 73-acre South Brooklyn Marine Terminal – a historic home for New York City’s working waterfront – is set to transform into one of the nation’s largest dedicated port facilities for offshore wind in the U.S. and will support the staging and assembly of offshore wind turbine components for Empire Wind and the East Coast’s growing offshore wind industry.
SBMT will serve as the operations and maintenance (O&M) hub for Empire Wind 1 and will be the site of the project’s onshore substation. A low-emissions facility with solar power and EV charging stations installed onsite, the port will provide onshore power and charging for the Empire Wind Service Operations Vessel, the first plug-in hybrid vessel for the U.S. offshore wind industry. SBMT is being redeveloped together with New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and terminal operator Sustainable South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SSBMT). SSBMT is a joint venture of Red Hook Terminals and Industry City.
Empire Wind is being developed by Equinor, a leading energy company with more than 20 years of experience with offshore wind and a strong existing offshore wind portfolio with assets in key markets including the UK, Poland, Germany and South Korea.
Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between approximately 75 and 135 feet. The lease was acquired in 2017. The project’s two phases, Empire Wind 1 and 2, have a potential capacity of more than 2 GW (810 + 1,260 MW), enough to power over 1 million New York homes.?www.empirewind.com?
