Equinor and BP Secure Offshore Wind Partnership in U.S.

Norway’s Equinor says it has closed its previously disclosed agreement with BP to sell 50 percent stakes in its Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects, located offshore Massachusetts and New York, respectively, for $1.1 billion.

The transaction is the first step in Equinor’s strategic partnership with BP in the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind market. The agreement also marks BP’s first venture into offshore wind as the petroleum giant transitions its business to include more renewable energy sources.

Equinor will remain operator in both projects through the development, construction and operations phases.

In January, Equinor and BP were selected to develop two large offshore wind farms off New York State in what was said to be one of the largest renewable energy procurements in United States’ history.

Under the procurement award, Equinor and BP will provide 1,260 MW capacity of offshore wind power from Empire Wind 2 project and another 1,230 MW of power from Beacon Wind 1. Combined with Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project’s 816 MW capacity, the projects will total 3.3 gigawatts of renewable power to the State.

The award includes stipulations that the companies will partner with New York State to transform two New York ports, the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) and the Port of Albany, into large-scale offshore wind industrial facilities, positioning New York to become an offshore wind industry hub.

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