Equinor and bp have announced an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to terminate the Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate Agreement for the Empire Wind 2 project, an offshore wind array in the US with, potentially, a generation rating of 1.26 GW.
The two partners say that this agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale, and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtake opportunities. The decision recognises commercial conditions driven by inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions that prevented Empire Wind 2’s existing OREC agreement from being viable.
Equinor and bp are however still committed to maintaining substantial contributions to the state and local economy.
“Commercial viability is fundamental for ambitious projects of this size and scale said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas. “We will continue to closely engage our many community partners across the state. As evidenced by the progress at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, our offshore wind activity is ready to generate union jobs and significant economic activity in New York.”
“bp is supportive of NYSERDA’s leadership and commitment to offshore wind, which we believe is a critical part of New York State’s and America’s clean energy future,” said Joshua Weinstein, bp’s president of offshore wind Americas.
The Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 projects recently reached a key federal permitting milestone, having received the federal Record of Decision from BOEM; last month, Empire Wind 1 also received its Article VII Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in New York.
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