An offshore wind proposal that was placed on hiatus amid the industry’s recent financial turmoil is taking a further detour, halting its attempt to bring an export cable onshore in New York.
Empire Offshore Wind on Sept. 12 withdrew its application (Case No. 22-T-0346) with the state Department of Public Service for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the transmission line that would have served Empire Wind 2.
Without a certificate, Empire cannot build a line.
The application had become highly controversial in the 27 months since it was submitted, attracting strong resistance in Long Beach, the oceanfront city it would pass through. (See ‘What Did We Do to Deserve This?’) Nearly 1,000 comments have been submitted in the Public Service case.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), a vocal wind power proponent, further complicated the effort when she vetoed an attempt to facilitate construction of the cable through the city. (See New York Governor Vetoes Planned Offshore Wind Transmission Act.)
A spokesperson for Equinor said Sept. 13 the company remains committed to development of the Empire Wind 2 lease area in a manner that is profitable and will assess future offtake opportunities.
Both Empire plans have been approved by federal regulators, but only Empire 1 is progressing at this point. (See BOEM Approves Empire Wind.)
Equinor anticipates a final investment decision on Empire 1 this year. The company is building an $861 million offshore wind hub in Brooklyn to service this and future projects, and it is looking for an equity partner for Empire 1.
Empire 1’s export cable would connect with the grid in Brooklyn, in a location and manner that has not attracted opposition similar to that seen in Long Beach.
Empire Wind 1 and 2 and Beacon Wind 1 and 2 were joint ventures of Equinor and bp; the two companies previously were awarded New York state contracts for Empire 1, Empire 2 and Beacon 1.
The anticipated cost of construction soared in 2022 and 2023, however, rendering the financial terms of those contracts untenable, and all three contracts were canceled, along with contracts for many onshore renewable projects. (See Sweeping Reset Underway for NY Renewable Development.)
The two companies ended their partnership and split their portfolio. Beacon went to bp, which said in June it still was evaluating its options. (See Bp Says It is Still Evaluating Beacon Wind.)
Equinor bid Empire 1 into the rush solicitation New York launched in an attempt to get its offshore wind aspirations back on track when its portfolio collapsed. Equinor won a new contract this year for 810 MW of capacity at a much higher price than the original contract. (See Empire, Sunrise Wind Back Under Contract in NY.)
Equinor did not rebid the 1,260-MW Empire 2 into the rush solicitation, and the spokesperson said it also did not rebid the project into the current New York solicitation, which closed Sept. 9.
The current solicitation attracted some other familiar names, however: Attentive Energy, Community Offshore Wind and Excelsior Wind all announced that they had submitted proposals for plans that have been in the works for years. (See NY OSW: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again.)
New York awarded tentative contracts to all three proposals in October 2023, but they had to be scratched in April 2024, when development of the turbine specified in those contracts was halted. (See NY Offshore Wind Plans Implode Again.)
