Equinor, bp terminate offshore Empire Wind 2 agreement

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway — Equinor and bp have reached an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to terminate the Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) agreement for the Empire Wind 2 project.

Empire Wind, located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island, is being developed through a 50:50 joint venture between Equinor and bp. The Empire Wind lease, which was acquired in 2017, spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between about 75 ft and 135 ft. 

The partners say the project’s two phases, Empire Wind 1 and 2, have a potential capacity of more than 2 GW (816 + 1,260 MW).

Equinor says the agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtake opportunities. The decision recognizes commercial conditions driven by inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions that prevented Empire Wind 2’s existing OREC agreement from being viable.

The Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 projects recently reached a key federal permitting milestone, having received the federal Record of Decision from BOEM. Last month, Empire Wind 1 also received its Article VII Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in New York.

This same time last year, DEME Offshore US was contracted to transport and install inter-array cables for the Empire Wind 1 and 2 offshore wind farms.