The New York State Public Service Commission has approved the start of construction for the interconnection cable of Equinor's 816-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1 project. This approval covers the construction phase within Con Edison's Gowanus substation property in New York City, which includes excavation, duct bank installation, cable pulling, site restoration, and decommissioning activities.
Commission Chair Rory Christian stated, “Approval of the Environmental Management and Construction Plan (EM&CP) to commence construction of this phase of the Empire Offshore Wind 1 Interconnection Cable Project is an important step. The Commission is proud to support the growth of New York's renewable electricity marketplace.”
The transmission line for the project will stretch 17.5 miles, from the boundary of New York State waters to the interconnection point in Brooklyn. It will feature two 230-kilovolt (kV) HVAC submarine cables and a 15.1 nautical mile-long export cable corridor.
Additionally, an onshore substation will be built at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to increase the voltage to 345 kV for the onshore interconnection cables. Two 345-kV cable circuits, each consisting of three single-core HVAC onshore interconnection cables, will be buried underground from the onshore substation to the Gowanus 345-kV substation.
