- US FERC has approved Equinor’s Empire Wind 1, an offshore wind project.
- FERC’s approval allows the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project to connect through the Sunset Park Onshore Substation.
US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved Equinor’s Empire Wind 1, an offshore wind project, a direct connection into New York City’s transmission system.
This approval marks the first such approval is issued by FERC. The Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA) was executed between Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project, New York ISO (NYISO) and Consolidated Edison Company of New York.
Also, FERC’s approval allows the Empire Wind 1, offshore wind project to connect through the Sunset Park Onshore Substation at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into the New York City electrical grid at Con Edison’s Gowanus substation, delivering 810MW of renewable power.
Teddy Muhlfelder, vice president of Equinor Renewables Americas, said, “The execution of the LGIA is a key milestone for Empire Wind and New York City. This federal approval marks the culmination of a years-long process under NYISO. It is another important step in allowing Equinor to advance a project connecting offshore renewable power to Brooklyn and into hundreds of thousands of New York homes.”
Furthermore, this is the latest in a series of critical achievements for Empire Wind 1, the provisional winner in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation (NY4) on February 29.
The project also received approval of its federal Construction and Operations Plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last month, and the New York Public Service Commission issued the project’s Article VII Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in December 2023.