COWI, a prominent international engineering consulting group, has been awarded its largest offshore wind engineering contract to date in the USA.
Contracted by Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture of Equinor and BP, COWI will deliver a turnkey design for the WTG foundations of the Empire Wind 1 and 2 projects off the coast of Long Island, New York, set to be one of the largest offshore wind developments in North America.
With an anticipated generation capacity of more than 2 GW, 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 work on all aspects of the wind turbine foundation design, 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 to 131 feet. The contract calls for the detailed engineering of 138 foundations with diameters of approximately 30 feet and lengths up to 330 feet.
Empire Wind will add to COWI’s large offshore wind portfolio in the US. The company previously won a seven-year contract for Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts, and secured numerous other projects on both coasts with respect to marine terminals, site assessments, geotechnical analysis, turbine and offshore substation foundation designs.
