New York Awards Equinor and bp 2490 MW in Offshore Wind Contracts

Equinor and bp have been selected to provide New York State with offshore wind power in one of the largest renewable energy procurements in the US to date.

Equinor, along with incoming strategic partner bp, has been selected to provide New York State with offshore wind power in one of the largest renewable energy procurements in the US to date. Under the award, the firm will provide a generation capacity of 1,260 megawatts (MW) renewable offshore wind power from Empire Wind 2, and another 1,230 MW of power from Beacon Wind 1 – adding to the existing commitment to provide New York with 816 MW of renewable power from Empire Wind 1 – totaling 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of power to the State.

The execution of the procurement award is subject to the successful negotiation of a purchase and sale agreement, which the partnership looks forward to finalising together with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

As part of the award by NYSERDA, the companies will partner with the State to transform two venerable New York ports – the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) and the Port of Albany – into large-scale offshore wind working industrial facilities that position New York to become an offshore wind industry hub.

“These projects will deliver homegrown, renewable electricity to New York and play a major role in the State’s ambitions of becoming a global offshore wind hub. The US East Coast is one of the most attractive growth markets for offshore wind in the world. The successful bids for Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 represent a game-changer for our offshore wind business in the US and underline Equinor’s commitment to be a leading company in the energy transition. These projects will also create value through economies of scale and support our strategic ambition of becoming a global offshore wind major,” said Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor.

In November 2020, Dogger Bank wind farm owners, Equinor and SSE, had announced the financial close on the first two phases of the project, representing in aggregate the largest offshore wind project financing to date globally.

The total senior debt facilities across the two phases is GBP 4.8 billion, plus ancillary facilities of around GBP 0.7 billion.

The project is being built in three 1.2 GW phases, with the first two phases being constructed at the same time to take advantage of the synergies resulting from their geographical proximity and use of common technology and contractors. SSE Renewables are leading the construction of the 3.6 GW project, and Equinor will lead on the wind farm’s operations.