Sidley helped secure a major victory for Equinor, a leading international energy company headquartered in Norway. On May 19, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) agreed to lift a month-long stop-work order that threatened timely completion of Equinor’s US$5 billion Empire 1 wind project, an offshore wind farm being developed 15–30 miles south of Long Island, New York. The order, which affected project time lines and incurred losses of US$50+ million per week, was lifted following strategic engagement with regulators and stakeholders at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Lifting the order protected thousands of jobs and ensured continued progress on a project that will power 500,000 New York homes by 2027.
Equinor is a major international player in offshore floating and fixed-bottom wind projects. Empire Offshore Wind is one of several wind projects in which Equinor has invested in the U.S. It consists of two phases, Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2, and will feature up to 130 wind turbines and two offshore substations. The project is expected to play a substantial role in moving New York towards its goal of developing nine gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2035. Empire Wind 1, which is designed to deliver 810 MW of power to 500,000 homes in Brooklyn, New York, was at 30% construction at the time of the stop-work order. It is expected to reach commercial operation in 2027. Empire Wind 2, which is currently in early-stage development, will have a potential capacity of 1,200 MW and deliver power to an additional 500,000 homes.
The United States is a core country in Equinor’s portfolio. Since the early 2000s, Equinor has invested approximately US$60 billion in U.S. energy projects, mainly within oil and gas and, more recently, within low carbon solutions, critical minerals, and renewables. Equinor has operations and investments in more than 30 countries worldwide.
The Sidley team was led by Karen Popp, Richard Smith, and Michael Borden (all in Washington, D.C.), and included Pattie DeLoatche, Dino LaVerghetta, and Anna Boardman (all in Washington, D.C.).
