The New York State Public Service Commission has approved Empire Offshore Wind LLC’s plans to build and operate the New York offshore and onshore transmission facilities for the Empire Wind 1 Offshore Wind Project.
Empire Offshore Wind 1 is an 816 MW wind project being developed by Equinor Wind US LLC.
The approved proposal calls for a project that runs approximately 17.5 miles of transmission lines from the boundary of New York state waters to a point of interconnection in Brooklyn. The transmission project includes two 230 kV high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) submarine export cables within an approximately 15.1 nautical mile-long submarine export cable corridor, extending from the boundary of New York state waters (3 nautical miles from shore) to the cable landfall in Brooklyn; and a 0.2 mile-long onshore cable route and substation including two three-core 230 kV HVAC onshore export cables buried underground from the cable landfall either directly to the cable terminations or to transition vaults within the proposed onshore substation.
In addition, there will be an onshore substation located at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal that will increase the voltage to 345 kV for the onshore interconnection cables, and two 345 kV cable circuits, each with three single-core HVAC onshore interconnection cables that will be buried underground from the onshore substation to the point of interconnection at the Gowanus 345 kV substation owned by the ConEdison.
“The development of offshore wind projects is an important part of the development of a clean energy economy for New York State,” says Commission Chair Rory M. Christian. “The certificate conditions are adequate to protect the public interest and to ensure potential significant negative impacts of the project are avoided or minimized.”
The joint proposal was signed by multiple stakeholders, including Empire Offshore Wind, Department of Public Service staff, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Agriculture and Markets, the Department of State, the City of New York and the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association.
No parties opposed the terms of the joint proposal.
Before construction can begin, the commission must approve an environmental management and construction plan for the project.
“This significant state permitting milestone follows last month’s federal Record of Decision from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for Empire Wind, moving this important project another step closer to construction,” says Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas.
“Empire Wind 1 stands to play a critical role in establishing New York as a world-class hub for the offshore wind industry by revitalizing the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, creating jobs, boosting the local supply chain, and connecting New Yorkers to a reliable, long-term source of renewable energy.”
