New York offshore windfarm advanced

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a Clean Air Act permit near New York for Empire Offshore Wind LLC.

The offshore windfarm will be in federal waters on the outer continental shelf about 12 nautical miles (22.2km) south of Long Island, New York, and 17 nautical miles (31.5km) east of Long Branch, New Jersey.

The Empire Wind project will include up to 147 offshore wind turbines, two offshore substations and the associated cables needed to transport the electricity.

Offshore construction is anticipated to begin in 2024 and be completed within four years.

There will also be onshore components associated with the Empire Wind project that are not addressed in this air permit.

Onshore components are being addressed in separate federal, state, and local permitting or government processes.

EPA conducted an air quality analysis that reportedly showed the main air quality impacts of the project will occur during construction and will be offshore over the water area around the project.

The air quality analysis also showed that the impacts on air quality from the construction and operation of the project will not cause or contribute to a violation of federal air quality standards.

EPA sought and received public comment before the permit was finalised.

'EPA is happy to partner with New York state in leading the way to a clean energy future. When built, this project is expected to generate more than 2,000MW of electrical power for New York State – enough to power as many as a million homes,' says Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia.

'This project is part of a larger effort by the Biden Administration to...generate 30GW of clean, abundant energy from offshore wind by 2030.'