Today, the Department of the Interior announced its Record of Decision for Empire Wind, composed of Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2, off the coast of New York. Turn Forward praised the commitment and collaboration of local, state, and federal leaders who are advancing these and other critical offshore wind energy projects.
“Coming on the heels of the first turbine installation at the South Fork project, Empire Wind’s approval is another major offshore wind milestone in this week alone. With the U.S.’s sixth project approval, the Biden-Harris administration continues to drive American offshore wind energy forward — bringing investments to local economies, creating even more good-paying jobs, and providing secure, clean energy to hundreds of thousands of homes,” said Catherine Bowes, Senior Director of Strategy and Advocacy at Turn Forward.
Together, Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 will produce over 2 gigawatts of clean energy to power 700,000 homes. The projects will support 830 good-paying jobs each year during the course of construction and 300 jobs during the operations phase.
Equinor and bp, the developers of Empire Wind, will upgrade and build out the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The port will serve as a key manufacturing and operations base for Empire Wind, including for power interconnection and wind turbine staging and installation. The port will also be able to support future offshore wind projects.