New York’s Empire Wind 1 Gets Federal Green Light for Grid Connection
Vestas V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbines will be installed at Empire Wind 1 project (Credit: Vestas)
Equinor has received an approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to connect the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project directly into the New York City’s transmission system.
Approved on March 1, the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement (LGIA) executed between Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project, New York ISO (NYISO) and Consolidated Edison Company of New York marks the first such approval issued by FERC ever.
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.
“The execution of the LGIA is a key milestone for Empire Wind and for New York City. This federal approval marks the culmination of a years-long process under NYISO and is another important step in allowing Equinor to advance a project that will connect offshore renewable power to Brooklyn and into hundreds of thousands of New York homes,” said Teddy Muhlfelder, vice president of Equinor Renewables Americas.
“Con Edison is building the grid of the future to provide our customers with reliable, renewable, clean energy. We are pleased to continue our work with the team from Empire Wind 1 to connect this project to our grid and bring the first offshore wind energy to our customers in New York City,” added Walter Alvarado, vice president, Con Edison System and Transmission Operation.
This announcement is the latest in a series of critical achievements for Empire Wind 1, which was selected as a 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.
Empire Wind stands to play a critical role in establishing New York as a world-class hub for the offshore wind industry, including the transformation of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into an offshore wind industry assembly facility, as well as an operations and maintenance (O&M) base.
