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Statoil’s NY Offshore Wind Project Named 'Empire Wind'

Posted by October 24, 2017

Photo: Statoil

Empire Wind is the project name of Statoil (STO)’s offshore wind site located off the southern coast of Long Island, N.Y. 
 
“The name Empire Wind captures the pivotal role that this important project will play in helping New York achieve its ambitious renewable energy goal,” said Statoil’s Empire Wind Project Director, Christer af Geijerstam.  “Empire Wind also speaks to the leading role that New York State is taking in advancing the deployment of offshore wind technology in North America.”

The 79,350 acre site, secured by Statoil in a federal auction in December 2016, has the potential to generate up to 1GW of offshore wind power for New York City and Long Island, according to Statoil, making it a key part of New York State’s plan to deploy renewable energy sources to meet the state’s electricity needs.

New York’s Clean Energy Standard mandates an increase in the share of renewables in its energy mix to 50 percent by 2030.  As part of that effort, Governor Andrew Cuomo recently called for the development of up to 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030.
 
Statoil said it is still in the early stages of developing the offshore wind farm; the Empire Wind project team is currently conducting an extensive evaluation process, gathering detailed information about the seabed conditions, grid connection options and wind resources characteristic to the area. 
 
Statoil also launched an Empire Wind website where members of the public can obtain information on the project and register to receive updates.

Statoil currently has seven offshore wind projects online or under development in Europe, including the world’s first floating offshore wind project in Scotland—a technology which could also prove pivotal in generating offshore wind power for the U.S. west coast and Hawaii. The company’s offshore wind portfolio has the capacity of providing more than one million European homes with renewable energy.

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