New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has announced Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project as one of the conditional winners in its fourth offshore wind solicitation round.
The 810MW Empire Wind 1 aims to deliver first power to New York in 2026. Equinor and NYSERDA will now negotiate an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) Purchase and Sale Agreement, with contract execution expected within Q2 2024. Empire Wind 1 has already received approval of its Construction and Operations Plan (COP) from the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and its Article VII Certificate of Environmental Capability and Public Need from the New York Public Service Commission. On 25 January 2024, Equinor announced a swap transaction with bp, under which Equinor will take full ownership of the Empire Wind lease and projects and bp will take full ownership of the Beacon Wind lease and projects. This transaction is subject to regulatory approval and closing of the transaction is expected in Q2 or Q3 2024.
