New York's Empire Wind offshore project wins Clean Air Permit

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday issued a Clean Air Act permit to Empire Offshore Wind LLC for its 2.1-GW offshore wind project near Long Island, in New York state waters.

The green light was given after an air quality analysis showed that the construction and operation of the wind farm complex would not compromise federal air quality standards. The permit comes several months after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) gave its nod to the proposal.

Empire Wind is a combination of two offshore projects – Empire Wind 1 and 2. To be installed in a federal lease area about 12 nautical miles south of Long Island, the complex will be made of 147 turbines and will be providing power to the state of New York through a connection to the grid in Brooklyn and Long Beach. The 57-turbine Empire Wind 1 and 90-turbine Empire Wind 2 will be electrically isolated and independent from each other.

The two wind farms should be capable of producing power for more than 700,000 homes annually. With offshore construction set to be launched in 2024, they are planned to go online within four years.

Empire Wind was initially developed by Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and BP Plc (LON:BP) but is now moving forward under Equinor’s sole ownership. In January, the parties terminated their joint venture through an asset swap agreement.

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