Equinor wins huge renewable energy contract in the United States

Norwegian Equinor has won a major contract to supply renewable energy to New York State from two huge offshore wind farms located in waters off the East Coast.

In an announcement Wednesday, the firm said it was the “biggest” offshore wind deal ever in the United States – and also “one of the largest purchases of renewable energy in the United States to this day”.

Under the agreement, Equinor and its partner BP will supply renewable energy to New York from the Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 projects.

The two companies will also work with New York to develop the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the Port of Albany into what Equinor has described as “a large-scale industrial offshore wind facility.”

Last year, BP agreed to take a 50% stake in Equinor’s Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects, as part of a deal expected to be reached in early 2021.

The Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 developments will have a capacity of 1260 and 1230 megawatts (MW) respectively. The contract announced on Wednesday will complement another power deal for the 816 MW Empire Wind 1 project. Capacity refers to the maximum amount that facilities can produce, not what they are currently producing.

When fully completed, Equinor says the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects will each be able to power more than one million homes.

In a statement, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal described the US East Coast as “one of the most attractive growth markets for offshore wind in the world.”

While this may have potential, the United States is still a long way from competing with other regions of the world in terms of scale.

The country’s first offshore wind farm – the 30 MW five-turbine Block Island wind farm, which is operated by Danish company Orsted – only started commercial operations at the end of 2016.

By comparison, Europe is home to a number of huge offshore wind projects. Last November, Orsted announced that the 752 MW offshore facility at Borssele 1 & 2 was fully operational, claiming it could provide enough electricity to power 1 million homes.

In plans drawn up late last year, the European Union said it wanted its offshore wind capacity to reach 300 gigawatts by mid-century.

While Equinor and BP attempt to develop more renewable energy projects, they remain major players in the oil and gas industry.