Equinor has received authorization from the New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC) to develop and operate offshore and onshore transmission facilities for the 816 MW Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project.
The total transmission line for the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project extends approximately 17.5 miles (around 28 kilometers) from the edge of New York State waters to an interconnection point in Brooklyn.
The segment approved on February 13 encompasses construction activities within Con Edison’s Gowanus substation site, including excavation and installation of duct banks, pulling of cables, site restoration, and associated decommissioning work.
This transmission project features two 230-kV high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) subsea export cables within a 15.1-mile corridor, stretching from the New York State waters boundary to the cable landing in Brooklyn. Additionally, it includes a 0.2-mile onshore cable route and substation with two three-core 230-kV HVAC onshore export cables installed underground, linking directly to the cable terminations or to transition vaults at the proposed onshore substation.
Furthermore, an onshore substation will be located at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, which will step up the voltage to 345 kV for the onshore interconnection cables. There will be two 345-kV cable circuits, each consisting of three single-core HVAC onshore interconnection cables, that will be installed underground from the onshore substation to the interconnection point at the Gowanus 345-kV substation owned by Con Edison.
Located approximately 25-48 kilometers southeast of Long Island, the 816 MW offshore wind farm will consist of 54 Vestas 15 MW turbines.
The project was formerly co-owned by Equinor and BP, but in January 2024, the companies finalized an agreement to reorganize the ownership structure of their joint venture offshore wind projects in the United States. Consequently, Equinor assumed full control of Empire Wind 1 and 2, while BP obtained complete ownership of the 2.5 GW Beacon Wind project.
At the start of 2025, the developer secured a project financing package exceeding USD 3 billion and achieved financial closure on Empire Wind 1.
The offshore wind farm is projected to commence initial power generation in late 2026, with full operational commissioning expected in 2027.
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