Statoil won the federal auction last December and the wind project has a potential to generate up to 1GW of offshore wind power.
The wind farm will be spread across a 79,350 acre site and is expected to play a key role in New York state’s plan to deploy more renewable energy sources to meet its electricity needs.
The state of New York has come up with its Clean Energy Standard mandate to increase its share of renewables in its energy mix to 50% by 2030. Recently, Governor Cuomo called for the development of 2.4GW of offshore wind power by 2030.
Statoil's Empire Wind project director Christer af Geijerstam said: "The name Empire Wind captures the pivotal role that this important project will play in helping New York achieve its ambitious renewable energy goal.
"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 wind farm is still in its early stages of development. The team of Empire Wind project is presently evaluating and gathering detailed information about the seabed conditions, grid connection options and wind resources of the area.
Geijerstam also said: "We are committed to working with other developers, state officials, unions and the business community to develop a US supply chain for this and other offshore wind projects. Our goal is to help make offshore wind a leading option for generating clean and affordable energy in New York."
Presently, Statoil has seven offshore wind farms that are online or under development in Europe. The wind farms also include the world’s first floating offshore wind project in Scotland. As per the company, floating offshore wind technology could help in developing several projects in the US West coast and in Hawaii.
