Renewable Energy in New York Closer to Reality as Wind Farm Projects Make Headway
Plans to bring large-scale renewable energy to New York has been slow to progress since the 2019 signing of agreements by former Governor Cuomo with Norway-based Equinor’s Equinor U.S. Holdings, Inc. and Bay State Wind LLC, a joint venture of the Danish firm Ørsted A/S and Connecticut-based Eversource Energy for the development of Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind offshore wind farms respectively. At the time of the announcement, the two selected projects were expected to create nearly 1,700 megawatts of energy able to power over 1 million homes, create more than 1,600 jobs, and result in $3.2 billion in economic activity. In 2024 construction groundbreaking kicked off for both projects, the latter of which to be built at least 30 miles east of Long Island’s Montauk Point with its interconnection point to New York’s electricity grid in the town of Brookhaven at the Holbrook substation. Expected to be fully operational in 2027, Sunrise Wind will have up to 84 wind turbine generators and a total capacity of 924 megawatts of energy which the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimates could power more than 320,000 homes per year.
Empire Wind 1, which is the first phase of the project and being built with over 1,000 union jobs, will be the first offshore wind farm to connect directly to the New York City power grid. Its point of interconnection will be at the Gowanus substation being built on the 73-acre South Brooklyn Marine Terminal site located on the border of Sunset Park and Greenwood Heights between 29th and 39th Streets along 2nd Avenue. Red Hook Terminals and Industry City, under the joint venture of Sustainable South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, along with the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), are co-developing the $861 million project that will also include Windscape Brooklyn, a public space for offshore wind education that is expected to open in 2025. The wind farm made up of 54 wind turbines will be located approximately 14-15 miles from Jones Beach State Park and deliver 810 megawatts of energy to power 500,000 New York homes. Empire Wind 1, which is also expected to be fully operational in 2027, represents a big step forward in New York’s goal of developing 9 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2035, with early-stage development options currently being assessed for Empire Wind 2.