Global energy developers Equinor and BP announced Wednesday that they are canceling a contract for a massive wind farm project to be built off the coast of New York.
The companies announced that they have reached an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to terminate the offshore wind renewable energy certificate for the Empire Wind 2 project. Equinor and BP said commercial conditions such as inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions made the project contract untenable.
“Commercial feasibility is fundamental for an ambitious project of this size and scale,” Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas, said in a statement. “This is an opportunity to reset future projects and develop stronger and more robust projects.” “We continue to work closely with our many community partners across the state.”
“BP supports NYSERDA's leadership and commitment to offshore wind. We believe offshore wind is an important part of New York State's and America's clean energy future.” said BP. added Joshua Weinstein, President of Offshore Wind Americas. “Offshore wind can provide economic benefits as well as reliable renewable electricity for the state and its communities.”
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President Joe Biden shows a wind turbine size comparison chart during a conference on the Federal-State Offshore Wind Deployment Partnership, June 23, 2022. The Biden administration aims to approve 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The cancellation of Empire Wind 2 comes weeks after the Biden administration formally approved the product and its counterpart, Empire Wind 1, in November. The Department of the Interior (DOI) and Department of Energy support the project, and the White House has called it a “Bidenomics” success story.
This also comes on the heels of energy developer Orsted canceling its twin projects Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2, which were also approved and welcomed by the Biden administration. Orsted also blamed the negative economic situation.
The combined capacity of Empire Wind 1 and 2 is projected to be 2,076 megawatts, enough to power 700,000 homes annually. Empire Wind 2 would account for the bulk of that output and was expected to have a capacity of 1,260 megawatts.
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“Under President Biden's leadership, the U.S. offshore wind industry continues to rapidly expand, with manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction Good-paying union jobs are being created across the sector.” “Today’s approval of our sixth offshore wind project further accelerates significant progress toward the administration’s clean energy goals.”
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland speaks at an event celebrating the designation of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Las Vegas on April 14, 2023. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
“Bidenomics and the president's U.S. investment policies are growing the U.S. economy from the middle out to the bottom up,” the DOI added. The agency also said the Empire Wind project supports President Biden's lofty green energy goals.
In 2021, Biden outlined a goal to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, the most ambitious goal of its kind in the world. That same year, his administration approved the Vineyard Wind and Southfork Wind projects, the first two large-scale offshore wind projects approved in U.S. history.
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The Empire Wind project's approval in November was the sixth such approval.
Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced that the deal between NYSERDA and developer Empire Wind will close in January 2022.
