Equinor releases maritime data from lease area buoys

Two years of collected data, coupled with future near real-time data has been made available to the public through a historic agreement between New York State and the Empire and Beacon Wind projects. Equinor and bp, in conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority have publicly released detailed information on wave heights, currents, wind speeds, and wind directions information collected by buoys south of Long Beach and east of Montauk.

The data is now being publicly shared in near real-time, allowing local fishermen, mariners, oceanographic researchers, and the United States Coast Guard to access greater visibility into marine conditions and patterns in the waters off Long Island. Surface data is provided by Met Ocean and floating Light Detection and Ranging buoys. The data is being made publicly available as part of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System OceansMap.

“We are excited to share this important and valuable data set,” said Scott Lundin, director of permitting for Equinor, “The Empire Wind and Beacon Wind project teams have relied on it to inform planning efforts like foundation design, construction schedules, and estimated transit times to and from our wind farms during operations. We believe sharing this data benefits the public by enhancing knowledge about our ocean resources, while demonstrating Equinor’s commitment to transparency in our project development activities.”

“Data availability is essential for the environmentally responsible and cost-effective development of offshore wind, and data sharing has been a cornerstone of New York’s offshore wind strategy,” said NYSERDA director of offshore wind Greg Lampman said.

“The availability of this important data will enhance knowledge of metocean conditions in the region, helping to ensure the safe and efficient design and operation of Empire Wind and Beacon Wind, while also supporting other academic research activities in the region,” Lampman said.

The Beacon Wind buoys will continue to produce data until November. The Empire Wind buoys’ data is from 2018 through 2022 when the buoys were brought back to shore.