Equinor and BP have finalized the Purchase and Sale Agreements (PSAs) with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for the Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 offshore wind projects.
The finalization of the PSA agreements was attended by U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko.
The PSAs set the terms under which these projects will supply homegrown, renewable power to New York and inject significant economic investments into the state’s economy.
The finalization of the PSAs concludes the contracts awarded in January 2021, when Equinor and BP were selected to provide New York State with offshore wind power in one of the largest renewable energy procurements in the U.S. to date.
Once completed, Equinor and BP’s portfolio of active offshore wind projects – Empire Wind 1, Empire Wind 2, and Beacon Wind 1 – will produce enough electricity to power about 2 million New York homes and will help generate more than $1 billion in economic output to New York State.
The offshore wind projects on the U.S. east coast are key building blocks to accelerate profitable growth in renewables and our ambition to install 12-16 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.
The completion of the PSA represents a major milestone and enables the start of project execution for the Equinor-BP partnership.
“Today’s announcement sets Equinor and bp on the path to provide over 3.3 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power for New York. It also offers a large-scale, tangible demonstration of the incredible economic activity and carbon reduction potential being driven by New York’s green energy transition,” said Siri Espedal Kindem, President of Equinor Wind US. “We are proud to help lead the growth of this exciting industry in New York.”
“Offshore wind is bringing unprecedented investment to New York State, and we are proud to further cement ourselves as the offshore wind hub of the nation. Meeting our nation-leading offshore wind goal of 9,000 megawatts by 2035 will be an essential economic driver for the state, and these projects will help transform our energy system while providing thousands of family-sustaining jobs to bolster our growing green economy,” Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA, stated.
The PSAs agreed to with New York State finalize the terms under which Equinor and BP will provide generation capacity of 1,260 MW of renewable offshore wind power from Empire Wind 2, and another 1,230 MW of power from Beacon Wind 1, while making substantial investments in New York’s infrastructure.
The projects include port upgrades to transform South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a major staging and assembly facility for the industry, as well as an operations and maintenance base for the projects. The partnership will also invest in the Port of Albany, making it America’s first offshore wind tower and transition piece manufacturing facility.
