Empire Wind to probe concrete turbine foundations

Aker Solutions has signed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract with Empire Offshore Wind LLC to study the design and delivery of concrete foundations for the wind turbines at the Empire Wind project in New York.

Empire Wind is being developed by Equinor and BP through their 50/50 strategic partnership in the US.

Aker Solutions will analyze how to design, construct and install concrete substructures standing on the seafloor to support the wind turbines.

The scope also includes analysis of construction methods and models for marine operations to install the structures.

The FEED award for Empire Wind follows the completion of the pre-FEED won in 2019. The work starts immediately and will be completed in August 2021.

Aker Solutions’ front-end engineering work will also benefit several US-based partners and suppliers, the company said. This includes construction company Kiewit Infrastructure Inc. and regulatory and permitting expert McLaren.

“In recent years, we have increased our activity within low-carbon and renewable energy projects, and offshore wind is a key growth area. Aker Solutions is already delivering concrete hulls to Equinor’s Hywind Tampen offshore floating wind project,” said Kjetel Digre, chief executive officer of Aker Solutions.

”We are pleased to see that the Empire Wind development is considering using proven concrete technology, and that we can contribute with our expertise.”

Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 ha, with water depths of between 65 and 131 feet. The lease was acquired by Equinor in 2017 and is being developed in two phases.

The 816 MW Empire Wind Phase 1 was selected in New York’s first-ever offshore wind solicitation in 2019.

In January 2021, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected Empire Offshore Wind LLC as the winner of the state’s second offshore wind solicitation.

Under the award, the companies will develop the 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 and the 1,230 MW Beacon Wind 1 offshore wind projects.

The project will feature wind turbines with a nameplate capacity of between 10 MW and 15 MW.