Federal officials in the US will on Friday publish a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on the Construction and Operations Plan for Equinor and BP’s 2GW Empire Wind offshore wind farm off the north-east Atlantic coast.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the scoping process is intended to identify what should be considered in the EIS for each project. Throughout the process, there will be “multiple opportunities” to help it determine the important resources and issues, potential impacts to the environment, reasonable alternatives and potential mitigating measures, it said.
The publication of the notice will open a 30-day public comment period to help BOEM define the scope of the EIS.
BOEM will hold virtual public scoping meetings. Public input obtained during the comment period will be used to inform the preparation of the EIS.
In addition to calling for up to 174 wind turbines, the Empire Wind COP calls for two offshore substations, two offshore electric cable routes, up to three export cable landfall sites, up to three onshore electric cable routes, and two onshore substations, providing connection to the existing electrical grid in New York.
If built, the two facilities would contribute to New York’s goal of securing 9GW of offshore wind energy generation by 2035.
During development and construction, Empire Wind would generate an average of 880 jobs from 2019-2027, with a peak of almost 2,400 jobs in approximately 2025. During operations and maintenance, Empire Wind would support about 300 long-term jobs, added BOEM.
The Empire Wind project is located in federal waters approximately 12 nautical miles south of Long Island, New York, and 17 nautical miles east of Long Branch, N.J.
“As coastal states look to offshore wind to help fulfill their clean energy goals to combat climate change and create good-paying jobs, BOEM is working diligently to evaluate environmental and multiple use considerations while engaging with our government partners, industry, other ocean users and key stakeholders,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton.
“President Biden has directed a government-wide approach to the climate crisis, and BOEM is an important part of that effort.”