Equinor, BP bid to expand offshore wind project off New York

OSLO (Reuters) - Equinor and BP have submitted a joint bid to build a second stage of their Beacon Wind project to supply more offshore wind power to the state of New York, the companies said in a statement late on Thursday.

The planned 1,360-megawatt (MW) capacity project, some 60 miles off the eastern tip of Long Island, would be able to power about one million of New York homes.

"Equinor and BP are eager to build on the significant experience gained through our work in New York over the past five years to bring more offshore wind energy to the state," said Molly Morris, Equinor's head of wind power in the United States.

Equinor and BP are already developing three offshore wind projects off New York - Empire Wind 1 and 2, and Beacon Wind 1 - with a total capacity of 3,300 MW.

The projects should help New York State towards achieving its goal to generate at least 70% of its electricity need from renewable energy sources by 2030.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik)