Equinor receives final approval to build the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind park (US)

The Norwegian energy group Equinor has received the final approval from the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to begin construction on its 810 MW Empire Wind 1 offshore wind park off the US States of New York and New Jersey. The facilities approved for placement notably include two 230 kV alternating current submarine transmission cables.

Equinor expects to take a final investment decision on the project in mid-2024. The group is also developing the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind park, with a capacity of 1,260 MW, bringing the total capacity of the project to over 2 GW. Empire Wind 1 is expected to start production in 2026 and Empire Wind 2 in 2027. They should be able to generate enough energy to power 1 million New York homes.

The State of New York aims to develop 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035. At the federal level, the United States targets 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 15 GW of floating wind capacity by 2035. At the end of 2023, the US only had 42 MW of offshore wind capacity. Over 10 GW of onshore and offshore wind power capacity is under construction and over 60 GW is under development (of which over 36 GW offshore).