Network Celebrates Completion of Empire Wind Environmental Review

The Business Network for Offshore Wind, the leading organization working to accelerate offshore wind energy deployment and build a dedicated domestic supply chain, applauds the announcement that the nation’s fifth commercial scale offshore wind project passed the environmental review process and could soon receive final approval to begin construction. 

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Equinor and BP’s Empire Wind project off the coast of New York. Based off the findings of the FEIS, BOEM will issue its final Record of Decision (ROD) after 30 days with a final decision on the project’s environmental approval to begin construction. Empire Wind will consist of two separate wind farms, Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2, which have a combined capacity of 2,076 MW, enough to power more than 700,000 homes. If approved, Empire Wind would be the fifth commercial-scale U.S. offshore wind project to receive final environmental approval under the Biden-Harris administration. Vineyard Wind, South Fork Wind, Ocean Wind 1, and Revolution Wind have received RODs for their projects, two of which began installation in Q2 of 2023 and are expected to produce power later this year.   

The following statement can be attributed to Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind: 

“The Network is excited that Empire Wind passed this important environmental review process, which is critical to New York’s clean energy goals and supply chain advancement. Once it receives final approval, the U.S. will have a pipeline of over 5 GW of offshore wind energy cleared for construction, a substantial leap over just one year ago. Additionally, BOEM’s actions secures investments in the state and broader Northeast in ports, vessels, and component manufacturing facilities that will be key to the buildout of the U.S. industry. The Network applauds BOEM for its efforts to maintain the industry’s forward momentum while still ensuring environmentally responsible development.” 

Business Network for Offshore Wind | offshorewindus.org