The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of the proposed Empire Wind Farm Project offshore New York. Empire Wind proposes to construct two offshore wind projects, known as Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2, in its lease area located about 12 nautical miles south of Long Island, New York, and about 16.9 nautical miles east of Long Branch, New Jersey.
The two projects will be electrically isolated and independent from each other. The company proposes to construct up to 57 wind turbines for Empire Wind 1 and up to 90 wind turbines for Empire Wind 2, as well as up to two offshore substations with two cable routes connecting to the onshore electrical grid on Long Island. Together, the projects are expected to generate up to 2,076MW of energy. A Notice of Availability will publish in the Federal Register on Sept. 15, 2023, for the proposed project’s final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The final EIS analyses the potential environmental impacts of the activities laid out in Empire Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan. The final EIS is available on BOEM’s website. BOEM plans to issue a Record of Decision on whether to approve the project, and if so, identify conditions of approval, this fall.
