Under the agreement,
The agreement provides
Following the signing of the agreement, a bid was submitted for the Empire Wind 1 project in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation round, which closed at
“We aspire to be a leading company in the energy transition. Building on our experience as a leading player in US offshore wind, we now take full ownership of a mature, large-scale offshore wind project in a key energy market, where we have built a strong local organization,” says
“Empire Wind 1 is ready to deliver on New York’s climate and energy goals, with numerous permits and supplier contracts secured. The strong commitment by the state to develop this industry is reflected in the NY4 rapid rebid offering, providing an opportunity to improve value creation for the project,” says
Both Empire Wind 1 and 2 have been impacted by industry-wide macroeconomic effects, and while Empire Wind 1 is bidding into the NY4 solicitation, Empire Wind 2 will be matured for future solicitation rounds. Subject to the award of a new OREC contract in the NY4 solicitation, the project is expected to deliver a real base project return towards the lower end of the guided range for renewable projects of 4-8% on a forward-looking basis.
Upon closing, the assets will be fully consolidated into Equinor’s balance sheet. Taking 100% ownership in the Empire Wind projects and SBMT lease is expected to increase near term reported capital expenditure for
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The agreed effective date is
About Empire & Beacon Wind
- The Empire Wind lease was awarded to
Equinor in 2017. It is being developed in two projects, Empire Wind 1, with a potential capacity of 810 MW, and Empire wind 2, with a potential capacity of above 1,200 MW. - The Beacon Wind lease was awarded to
Equinor in 2019. It is being developed in two projects, Beacon Wind 1 1,230 MW with a potential capacity of and Beacon Wind 2 with a potential capacity of 1,360 MW. - In 2020, bp farmed into a 50% share of the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind assets for a total consideration of
USD 1.1 bn . Equinor won an offtake contract with the state ofNew York for Empire Wind 1 in 2019 and in 2021Equinor and bp were awarded offtake contracts for the Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 projects in New York’s second solicitation round.
Recent developments
- In 2022, an agreement was signed to transform the
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into a world-class offshore wind hub. - In 2023 Beacon Wind purchased the site of the Astoria Gas Turbines, with the potential to transform the site into The Astoria Gateway for Renewable Energy.
- In 2023,
Equinor and bp were among more than 100 renewables project developers that filed petitions with theState of New York to provide additional price support for their projects, due to industry-wide impacts from extraordinary macroeconomic effects. The petition was denied. - After the announcement of the denied petitions, the Governor of
New York released a 10-point action plan which included an expedited renewable energy procurement process – New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation round, NY4. - The Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 projects recently reached a key federal permitting milestone, having received the federal Record of Decision from BOEM. Last month, Empire Wind 1 also received its Article VII Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in
New York .
Further information from:
Investor relations:
bgp@equinor.com
+47 918 01 791
Media:
mfei@equinor.com
+47 975 28 604
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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