The Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management (BOEM) has made available the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed 2GW Empire Wind energy project off of New York.
The Empire Wind DEIS can be found on BOEM’s website, and the Notice of Availability for the DEIS will publish in the Federal Register on 18 November, which will open a 60-day public comment period.
The input received via this process will inform preparation of the final EIS.
Empire Offshore Wind submitted a Construction and Operation Plan (COP) for its proposal to develop two wind energy facilities and their associated export cables offshore New York, known as Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2.
The proposal includes up to 147 offshore wind turbine generators, two offshore substations, two offshore electrical cable routes, up to three export cable landfall sites, up to three onshore electrical cable routes and two onshore substations, providing connection to the existing electrical grid in Brooklyn and Long Beach, New York.
The DEIS analyses the potential environmental impacts of the project as described in the COP and several alternatives to the proposed action.
“BOEM continues to drive significant progress to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and our commitment to advance offshore wind is keeping pace with our commitment to do this right,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton (pictured).
“As we expeditiously review offshore wind projects, BOEM remains committed to fully analyse impacts with an emphasis on avoidance, minimization, and if needed, mitigation, and will continue to engage with Tribal nations, stakeholders, and ocean users.”
BOEM will use the findings of the EIS to inform its decision on whether to approve Empire Wind’s COP, and if so, which mitigation measures to require.