BP Terminates Empire Wind 2 Farm; 2nd Jersey Shore Wind Farm Axed

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Yet another wind farm off the Jersey Shore just got canceled.

On Jan. 3, Equinor and British Petroleum (BP) released this public statement, announcing they are terminating their agreement with the state of New York for Empire Wind 2.

Empire Wind 1 and 2 (project website: https://www.empirewind.com/) would have been the biggest wind farm to date off the Jersey Shore. Empire Wind 1 and 2 would have taken up a combined 80,000 acres of ocean, stretching from Sandy Hook to Long Branch. The wind farm would be quite far from shore, about 19 miles out.

The two companies cited "inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions" as reasons for canceling the project. The company also said there are "changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale."

Equinor retains the leasing rights to those 80,000 acres of ocean.

"Commercial viability is fundamental for ambitious projects of this size and scale. The Empire Wind 2 decision provides the opportunity to reset and develop a stronger and more robust project going forward," said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas.

No actual wind turbine construction had started yet.

Empire Wind 1 and 2 is a joint venture between Equinor, a Norwegian renewable energy company, and oil and gas giant British Petroleum. The two firms announced here they are terminating their agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Right now, the decision appears to only affect Empire Wind 2. The company has not said anything about Empire Wind 1.

Empire Wind 1 and 2 was an agreement made between Equinor/BP and the state of New York. The state of New Jersey was not involved in the project. Although the wind farm would have been located off the Jersey Shore, the energy that would have been generated there was primarily meant to service Long Island.

However, BP/Equinor is now the second energy company in the past four months to walk away from plans to build a wind farm off the Jersey Shore.

On Oct. 31, Danish company Orsted made the surprise 3 a.m. announcement they were pulling out of their plans to build a wind farm off Atlantic City. Orsted said the project was too expensive, despite the fact that the NJ Legislature gave them nearly $500 million in tax breaks to build the wind farms.

Gov. Phil Murphy released a furious statement after Orsted backed out, saying: "Orsted's decision to abandon its commitments to New Jersey is outrageous and calls into question the company’s credibility and competence."

Murphy said at the time he considered suing Orsted for backing out.

It was only in November 2023 that the federal government approved Empire Wind 1 and 2 to be built.

It was also in November 2023 that the head of BP's low-carbon energy development said at a conference in London the U.S. offshore wind industry is "fundamentally broken." (Reuters) Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP's head of gas and low carbon, cited problems with U.S. offshore wind that included permitting, the time lag between purchase agreements and projects being built, and inflation.

Empire Wind 1 and 2 would have been located about 15-30 miles south of Long Island, and 19.5 miles off Long Branch. This map shows exactly where they are proposed to be located. (Empire Wind 1 and 2 are not being built in Long Island Sound, as NJ 101.5 incorrectly reported.)

Empire Wind 1 and 2 would have had 147 turbines total. The turbines would be built in water depths of 75 to 135 feet. BP/Equinor acquired the ocean leasing rights in 2017.

Despite two companies now giving up on NJ wind farms, President Joe Biden continues to move forward with his goal of greatly expanding America's offshore wind energy. Biden said he has a goal of creating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, an ambition back by Gov. Phil Murphy.

In late November, Murphy directed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to launch a fourth round of offshore wind solicitation, beginning in early 2024. That means that sometime in the new year, companies can bid to build more wind farms off New Jersey.

The Biden administration has approved first-ever offshore wind lots in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico, and is exploring offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine and off Oregon.

Plans are still circulating for another wind farm called Atlantic Shores, proposed to be built 10 miles off Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island. It will consist of 110 turbines, likely visible from the beaches. Many towns on Long Beach Island and the Jersey Shore are suing Atlantic Shores to prevent the turbines from being built; Ventnor is the latest town to join the lawsuit.

Orsted's 98 turbines would have started 15 miles out. They would have been visible from Atlantic City beaches on very clear days, according to these renderings released by the company. Empire Wind turbines would likely not be visible from Long Branch beaches, as they would have been 19 miles out.

Not a single wind turbine has been built yet off the Jersey Shore.

2 Offshore Wind Farms Canceled In New Jersey, Developer Says (Oct. 31, 2023)