COWI wins US Empire offshore wind engineering contract

COWI will deliver a turnkey design for the wind turbine foundations for the Empire Wind 1 and 2 projects off the coast of Long Island, New York, marking its largest offshore wind engineering contract in the US to date.

Empire Offshore Wind is a joint venture between Equinor and bp. With an anticipated generation capacity of more than 2GW of renewable power, the development will utilise 15 MW wind turbines and is expected to play a major role in meeting New York State’s goal of reaching 70% renewable energy by 2030.

COWI will provide over 100 experts to work on all aspects of the wind turbine foundation design, from the tower interface to the seabed fastening – including steel, geotechnical and electrical design for the project as well as engineering support for fabrication, transportation and installation.

The development spans 80,000 acres and is in water depths ranging from 65-131 feet. The project calls for the detailed engineering of 138 foundations with diameters of approximately 30 feet and lengths up to 330 feet.

Greg Matzat, Market Director, Offshore Wind & Renewables at COWI, said: "It’s developments like this that really excite us, a complex engineering project, at the head of the development of a new industry in the US, that has huge social benefits and will help New York and the US achieve their renewable energy goals. The offshore wind industry in the US is booming, and we see great potential here for our engineers to continue providing innovative solutions for our clients."

The announcement adds Empire Wind to COWI’s large offshore wind portfolio in the US, having previously won a seven-year contract for Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts. The company has also secured other projects on both coasts with respect to marine terminals, site assessments, geotechnical analysis, turbine and offshore substation foundation designs.

COWI, providing engineering wind solutions in Europe since 1980, has installed more than 1,200 turbine foundation designs worldwide.

Three more offshore wind farms – with a total capacity of around 1.8GW – are coming up under a 50-50 partnership between Ørsted and Eversource, New England’s largest energy company.