Empire Offshore Wind selects Vestas as its preferred supplier for wind turbine generators for Empire Wind I and Empire Wind II
Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and bp, has selected Vestas as its preferred supplier for wind turbine generators for both Empire Wind I and Empire Wind II, one of the largest offshore wind projects in the US, according to Equinor's release.
The preferred supplier agreement – one of the largest of its kind to be announced in the US, is a key milestone for Empire Wind, an important step towards delivering its goal of providing offshore wind energy at scale to the state of New York.
The deal would see Vestas deliver 138 V236-15MW wind turbine generators with a total generating capacity of around 2GW - for the two Empire Wind developments. Each rotation of a 15MW turbine will be capable of powering a New York home for about 1.5 days.
As part of Equinor and bp’s commitment to create local capabilities in the offshore wind supply chain, Empire Wind and Vestas are maturing further opportunities for local jobs and economic activity in New York state.
Empire Wind continues to support the wider offshore wind supply chain development with the planned tower manufacturing plant in upstate New York. The tower sections for Empire Wind will be manufactured at Marmen and Welcon’s new plant in Port of Albany and will be supplied by Vestas. The tower manufacturing plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2023, creating up to 350 direct local jobs. The plan is for towers to be transported down the Hudson River to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT). At SBMT staging of the turbine components is planned to take place before transport offshore to the Empire Wind lease area for installation, contributing to several hundred renewables jobs in New York.
The turbine supply and service and warranty contract awards are conditional upon final agreement on the contract conditions and signing of the Empire Wind II purchase and sales agreement between Empire Offshore Wind LLC and NYSERDA.
About Empire Wind
Empire Wind is being developed by Equinor and bp through their 50/50 strategic partnership in the US.
The project will be a major contributor to meeting New York State’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals. When completed, Empire Wind will power more than 1 million New York homes.
Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between 65 and 131 feet. The lease was acquired in 2017 and is being developed in two phases (Empire Wind 1 and 2) with a total installed capacity of more than 2 GW (816 + 1,260 MW).
About Equinor Renewables US
Equinor is one of the largest offshore wind developers in the U.S., where it operates two lease areas, Empire Wind and Beacon Wind.
The projects will provide New York State with 3.3 gigawatts (GWs) of energy —enough to power nearly two million homes—including more than 2 GWs from Empire Wind and 1,230 megawatts from Beacon Wind 1.
About bp in the US
bp’s ambition is to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world get to net zero. bp is America’s largest energy investor since 2005, investing more than $130 billion in the economy and supporting about 230,000 additional jobs through its business activities.
bp’s commitment to the US dates back 150 years, its renewables portfolio includes wind, solar, bioenergy.
bp has built an onshore US wind energy business over a decade and now operates 1.7 GW gross portfolio, across 10 wind assets in the US (9 onshore wind assets across 6 states); and hold an ownership interest in a tenth, in Hawaii generating enough electricity to power 450,000 homes annually.
About South Brooklyn Marine Terminal
Equinor and bp plan to invest in port upgrades to help transform the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into a world-class offshore wind staging and assembling facility and become the operations and maintenance (O&M) base both for Equinor and other project developers going forward.
SBMT is planned to become one of the largest dedicated offshore wind port facilities in the United States at approximately 73 acres, with the capacity to accommodate wind turbine generator staging and assembly activities at the scale required by component manufacturers.
About Port of Albany
Equinor and bp will combine forces with established wind industry companies Marmen and Welcon at the Port of Albany to help the port become America’s first offshore wind tower and transition piece manufacturing facility, where it will produce components for Equinor’s projects.
The site, located in the State’s Capital Region, stands to become a go-to destination for future projects to source offshore wind towers, transition pieces, and other manufacturing components for many years to come as offshore wind continues to grow along the East Coast.
About Vestas:
Vestas designs, manufactures, installs, and services wind turbines across the globe, and has +140 GW of wind turbines in 85 countries, representing more than 18% of the global installed base. More than 35 GW has been installed in the US, totaling 7 GW across 39 projects are installed offshore by Vestas globally.
