New York has finalized more expensive power contracts than originally planned for two struggling offshore wind projects that are considered critical to reach the state’s climate goals.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced the final contracts Tuesday for Empire Wind 1, an 810-megawatt project being developed by Equinor, and Sunrise Wind, a 924-MW project from Ørsted and Eversource.
The developers of the two wind farms — which are capable of powering roughly 1 million homes — said in 2023 that they needed the higher contract prices to keep the projects viable amid rising costs.
“New York is leading the nation to build the clean energy industry,” Hochul said in a statement. “Offshore wind is a critical piece of our clean energy blueprint to address the climate crisis.”
