Permission sought to delay 816-MW Empire Wind 1's COD

The developers of the 816-MW Empire Wind 1 project off New York state’s coast are seeking permission to postpone the wind farm’s commissioning by more than a year, to December 2026.

Norway’s Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and BP Plc (LON:BP) have filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to change the commercial operation date (COD) deadline through a one-time, limited waiver of a requirement concerning the project’s interconnection agreement with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). Under it, the companies have to start generating power from Empire Wind 1 by June 14, 2025.

In their request, filed earlier in October, Equinor and BP are citing “expected timelines for receiving action on key permits and governmental approvals” as the reason for their demand. Another point in their filing are concerns related to the “inherent complexities” of the wind park’s construction and commissioning.

“Empire Wind should not be required to enter into an IA representing that the Project will achieve COD in June of 2025, which Empire Wind already knows to be impossible and which is inconsistent with representations that Empire Wind has made to other authorities”, Equinor and BP state.

The 816-MW Empire Wind 1 project was selected in New York’s maiden offshore wind tender in 2019. This capacity will be installed 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island across an 80,0000-ha area.

Last week, the V236-15.0 MW turbines by Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S were chosen for the project.

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