Local ties to wind energy project vanish

ALBANY — Although a federal judge ruled last week that Norwegian energy firm Equinor can resume construction on the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm off the coast of Long Island, the windfall of business opportunities local ports were supposed to enjoy from the $5 billion project appear to have dried up.

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Empire Wind 1 is being built about 20 miles off the coast of Long Island by Equinor, which has a power-purchase agreement in place with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, to buy the power.

 

The Trump administration issued a stop-work order on the project in December. When a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction against the government last week, Equinor said the project, which includes 54 wind turbines that are 884 feet tall, was 60 percent complete. The construction phase includes 4,000 workers.

Originally, the Port of Albany and the Carver Cos.' Port of Coeymans were supposed to be involved in construction activities with Empire Wind. The Port of Albany was planning a $600 million wind turbine tower manufacturing facility that would supply the steel tower pieces to the project. The factory was planned for Beacon Island, an 85-acre site located just outside the city of Albany in the town of Bethlehem on the Hudson River.

 

The contract with Equinor to supply those towers ended in 2024, port spokeswoman Penny Vavura told the Times Union. The port has spent $170 million on the Beacon Island site and is now seeking a manufacturer for the site, not necessarily one in the clean energy sector. The port issued a request-for-expressions-of-interest on the site for companies looking for new sites. With $18.8 million in state funding, the port is getting ready to build a substation at Beacon Island as well as other infrastructure.

 

“The port is in meetings and negotiations as a result, and the new use for the 85-acre parcel hasn’t been finalized yet,” Vavura said.

 

The Port of Coeymans was also supposed to get substantial work from Empire Wind 1 and another offshore wind project called Sunrise Wind. However, when the Trump administration moved to block those projects, it appears that some of that work has gone away or been paused.

 

The Port of Coeymans had been participating in some of that work until at least 2024.

 

Carver Cos. was also supposed to supply rocks to the Empire Wind I project, which will provide clean power to 500,000 households in New York City.

 

But Carver sold its mining operations in 2024 to Heidelberg Materials North America. Heidelberg now has the contract, a spokesman for Carver Cos. said.

 

Although Empire Wind is back on, local ties to project disappear 

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