In December 2016, Norwegian developer Statoil won a bid to lease 79,000 acres of underwater land from the federal government for wind energy development. Statoil’s wind energy project will be located approximately fourteen miles south of Long Beach and the Rockaways and will extend out to a distance of 30 miles. The project, to be known as Empire Wind, contemplates erecting 80 to 100 turbines and anticipates producing up to 1,000 megawatts – enough energy to power upwards of one million homes. Statoil anticipates commencing construction in 2021 and completing construction in 2024.
As part of New York’s plan to reach 50% renewable energy sources by 2030, the State has continued to research, test and identify off-shore areas for wind energy development. In October 2017, New York identified more than one million acres for the development for future wind farm projects.
Empire Wind hopes to join another wind energy project currently in the planning stages, a 90-megawatt wind farm project located off Long Island’s east end.
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