Empire Wind moves another step forward

Empire Wind will feature up to 147 Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbine generators. [Image: Vestas]

Another major U.S. offshore wind project has passed a regulatory milestone. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) yesterday released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Empire Wind project offshore New York. This puts the 2,076 MW Equinor and BP project one step nearer to its goal of delivering power by the mid-2020s.

“BOEM continues to drive significant progress to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and our commitment to advance offshore wind is keeping pace with our commitment to do this right,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “As we expeditiously review offshore wind projects, BOEM remains committed to fully analyze impacts with an emphasis on avoidance, minimization, and if needed, mitigation, and will continue to engage with tribal nations, stakeholders, and ocean users.”

The Empire Wind DEIS can be found on BOEM’s website, and the Notice of Availability for the DEIS will publish in the Federal Register on Nov. 18, which will open a 60-day public comment period that ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 17, 2023. The input received via this process will inform preparation of the Final EIS.

The Empire Wind proposal includes up to 147 offshore wind turbine generators, two offshore substations, two offshore electrical cable routes, up to three export cable landfall sites, up to three onshore electrical cable routes, and two onshore substations, providing connection to the existing electrical grid in Brooklyn and Long Beach, New York. The DEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the project as described in the project construction and operation plan COP.