Today, the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) broke ground, kicking off the transformation of the historic port into an East Coast offshore wind hub.

SBMT will support Norwegian energy giant Equinor’s first US offshore wind project, Empire Wind 1. Brooklyn’s new offshore wind hub is designed to be a central, scalable hub for the expanding East Coast offshore wind market, and as a port for future offshore wind developments.

When the terminal is complete, it will be one of the largest dedicated offshore wind hubs in the US. 

Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas, said, “We are proud to restore this historic working waterfront in Brooklyn and grateful for the shared commitment to offshore wind shown by this community and city, state, and federal leaders who made this milestone possible.”

The 73-acre construction project, which will feature solar and EV charging stations, will create a staging and pre-assembly site for Empire Wind 1’s turbine components. It will include an onshore substation to connect 810 megawatts (MW) of wind power to the Gowanus substation, making Empire Wind 1 the first offshore wind farm to connect directly to the New York City grid.  

In March, Empire Wind 1 announced a Project Labor Agreement to build SBMT, including more than 1,000 union jobs in Brooklyn.  

South Brooklyn Marine Terminal will also be home to Empire Wind 1’s long-term Operations & Maintenance Base, which includes a control room that measures turbine data and monitors the project 24/7. 

The 54-turbine Empire Wind 1 will provide enough reliable, renewable energy for 500,000 households and has a target to deliver first power in late 2026. On June 4, Equinor and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that they had finalized an offtake agreement for the wind farm’s power.

Check out Equinor’s drone tour of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal site:

Read more: Skanska is about to transform a Brooklyn marine terminal into a major offshore wind hub

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