Statoil and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) this week formally executed the lease of 79,350 acres offshore New York. Statoil will now have the opportunity to explore the potential development of an offshore wind farm in the lease area to provide New York with a significant, long-term source of clean and renewable electricity.
Offshore New York might look like this if Statoil and other wind advocates can follow through with their plans.
Knut Aanstad, President of Statoil Wind US, issued the following statement:
“Statoil is pleased to achieve this first milestone for the project. We are now ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work. The first step is for our technical experts to work with state agencies to evaluate the lease site to gather a more detailed understanding of the seabed conditions, grid connection options and wind resources that will ultimately define this project.
Statoil is pleased with the support that we have already received from various stakeholders, including the business community and environmental groups, and impressed with the enthusiasm expressed for the development of offshore wind by state agencies and stakeholders in New York alike. We look forward to meeting with all stakeholder groups and the local community as the project progresses.”
The lease comprises an area that could potentially accommodate more than 1 GW of offshore wind, with a phased development expected to start with 400 to 600 MW. The New York Wind Energy Area is located 14 to 30 miles (30 to 60 km) offshore, spans 79,350 acres (321 km2), and covers water depths from 65 to 131 feet (20 to 40 meters).
Statoil is an integrated, technology-based international energy company primarily focused on upstream oil and gas operations. From a daily production of approximately 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), more than 270,000 BOE stem from the company’s onshore and offshore oil and gas fields in the U.S.
Filed Under: News, Offshore wind
