On January 13, 2020 during a multiday series of State of the State speeches, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the largest award of offshore wind contracts by a U.S. state as part of the state’s broader plan to scale up renewable power over the next decade.[1] New York selected Equinor and incoming strategic partner bp to develop two new offshore wind farms about 20 miles off the coast of Long Island.[2] Empire Wind 2 will provide 1,260 MW of renewable offshore wind power and another 1,230 MW of power will come from Beacon Wind 1. Equinor has not released expected commercial operations dates for these projects, yet. Combined with Equinor’s existing commitment to provide 816 MW of renewable power from Empire Wind 1—expected to come online in 2024—Equinor will provide 3.3 GW of offshore wind power to New York. According to Cuomo, the newly announced wind farms will bring $8.9 billion in investment and create more than 5,200 jobs. Cuomo also announce that New York will contract 23 solar farms and one hydroelectric facility in 2021, which will produce more than 2,200 MW of clean power. When the large-scale renewable and offshore wind facilities are complete, more than half of the state’s electricity will come from renewable sources, putting the state ahead of schedule for reaching its goal of 70% renewable energy by 2030.

[1] https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Newsroom/2021-Announcements/2021-01-13-Governor-Cuomo-Outlines-2021-Agenda-Reimagine-Rebuild-Renew

[2] https://www.equinor.com/en/news/202101-us-offshore-wind.html