The Norweigan company Equinor has decided to install large wind turbines in the Baltic Sea by driving huge piles into the seabed 14 miles from Jones Beach. Photo Credit: Associated Press Photo/Bernd W'stneck

The Norwegian company plans to build as many as 174 offshore wind turbines 14 miles from Jones Beach. It has decided not to install these equipment on giant concrete foundations on the seabed, but instead use lower-cost piling structures.

The decision was quickly condemned by the two major environmental organizations and marked a major change in the earliest project plan of the developer Equinor, namely Imperial Wind 1 and 2.

The wind farm is scheduled to land in Long Beach and Brooklyn in the mid-2020s. Both projects are under state and federal review.

When Equinor first announced the Empire 1 project in 2019, Equinor promised to build a factory that would hire hundreds of New Yorkers to build a "gravity-based foundation"-a giant concrete structure 180 feet in diameter.

Union laborers will build these buildings in a new port near Albany, and then use giant barges to bring them into the Hudson River-as many as 174 buildings the size of small buildings.

The News Daily reported in August that Equinor is considering driving the monopile structure directly into the seabed as an alternative to the original plan.

Although pile-driven monopiles may have a greater impact on marine mammals, as it takes hundreds of thousands of blows to drive them into the seabed, they have significant cost advantages.

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Two major environmental organizations, the Natural Resources Defense Council and The Nature Conservancy, asked Equinor on Friday to maintain the original design of its gravity foundation, "to minimize their impact on the marine ecosystem."

NRDC wrote in a letter to Equinor that the decision to switch to a monopile was "shocking because of the lack of consultation." "A potential sudden reversal will undermine the initial trust and goodwill that Equinor has established so far..."

Carl LoBue, New York Marine Project Manager for The Nature Conservancy, added, “It’s disappointing on multiple levels because of the loss of a quiet foundation as an option. Looking ahead, we will work hard to ensure that [piling] regulations protect New York’s oceans Creatures, we basically have whales all year round."

The cost of a single pile is about half that of a gravity-based structure, and the floor space on the seafloor is 50 feet, which is about a third of that of a concrete structure.

The 15-MW Vestas turbine that the company plans to install near Long Island will be more than 900 feet high to the tip of the turbine blades

Equinor Renewables US's head of public affairs, David Marks, told News Daily that the decision was made after "extensive studies" on the feasibility of monopile and concrete structures.

He said that the decision will not affect the company's commitment to create economic benefits in New York, including the creation of approximately US$800 million worth of jobs.

"We still have strong economic output that is absolutely committed to New York," Max said.

Equinor officials said that in addition to higher costs, the gravity base will be more limited in the market for future US wind energy projects, which makes it impossible to develop manufacturing facilities for them.

According to Scott Lundin, Equinor's head of US licensing and environmental affairs, the smaller footprint of a single pile provides the ecological advantage of occupying less seabed.

Lundin said the single-pile option will include a "strong mitigation plan" to minimize environmental impact, including restrictions on when work can be performed due to the migration of whales and other marine mammals.

Piling requires hundreds to thousands of blows to hammer a huge monopile into the sea floor—the sound will echo for miles.

Equinor has not yet finalized a contract with the state government for Empire Wind 2 and an independent project called Beacon Wind.

"This is longer than expected by both parties," Max said of the contract, but it may be completed before the end of the year.

Kate Muller, spokesperson for the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency, which awarded offshore wind energy contracts, said that the agency is "fully confident" that Equinor and its partner bp are "working hard" to "promote Empire Wind efficiently and cost-effectively." Effectively serve consumers and shipping safety while upholding their important commitments to the country’s economic development.”

Mark Harrington, a reporter for News Daily since 1999, covers energy, breweries, Indian affairs and fisheries.

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