Vestas has successfully rebid the most recent offshore wind RFP in New York, confirming its prior conditional agreement to provide turbines for Equinor’s US 810MW Empire Wind 1 offshore project.
A portion of the broader Empire Wind project, which will be constructed in two stages, is Empire Wind 1. The combined capacity of the two phases will be 2.1GW, with the second phase having a capacity of 1.26GW.
Empire Wind 1 is planned to be situated between 15 and 30 miles away from Long Island and will have 147 turbines.
In its fourth solicitation, the state of New York conditionally selected two offshore wind projects in February 2024: Empire Wind 1 and the 924MW Sunrise Wind, a joint venture between Orsted and Eversource.
Empire Wind 1 will receive its new V236-15.0MW turbines from Vestas.
Before serial production starts, a prototype that was installed in December 2022 is undergoing final verification.
Vestas North America offshore sales senior vice-president Josh Irwin stated: “Ensuring the long-term viability and sustainability of the US offshore market relies heavily on the safe, timely and successful execution of the first wave of projects and this landmark project is a crucial step towards putting turbines in the water.
“We look forward to delivering an existing, reliable product and partnering with Equinor to help New York achieve its ambitious offshore wind energy goals and provide resilient wind energy to its communities.”
Vestas was chosen as the preferred supplier for the Empire Wind 1 and 2 wind farms in October 2021.
Equinor and BP engaged in a swap deal in January 2024 that had an impact on their offshore wind assets.
The Beacon Wind lease and projects will be under the complete authority of bp, while Equinor will fully own the Empire Wind lease.
Source Vestas
