Offshore

NY to invest in 3 offshore wind farms, 22 land-based renewable projects

NY to invest in 3 offshore wind farms, 22 land-based renewable projects
(Photo Credit: steve docwra/Bigstock.com)

Governor Kathy Hochul announced New York’s largest state investment in renewable energy yet, with three offshore wind and 22 land-based renewable energy projects totaling 6.4 GW of clean energy.

Once in service, the awarded offshore wind and land-based renewable energy projects will produce approximately 19 million MWh of new renewable energy per year.

When coupled with two marquee offshore wind blade and nacelle manufacturing facilities, this portfolio of newly announced projects is expected to create approximately 8,300 jobs and spur $20 billion in economic development investments statewide, including developer-committed investments to support disadvantaged communities.

The announcement supports progress toward New York’s goal for 70 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 – and nine GW of offshore wind by 2035 – on the path to a zero-emission grid as required by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Following these awards, New York will now have enough operating, contracted, and under development renewable energy projects to supply 79% of the state’s 2030 electricity needs with renewable energy.

The announcement represents the first set of actions taken by the State as part of New York’s 10-point Action Plan, announced recently by Governor Hochul, offering insight into how the Governor’s Administration plans to overcome recent macroeconomic and inflationary challenges that have impacted the renewable energy sector. The awards also mark the commencement of contract negotiations with the awarded parties, and the awards are conditional on successful contract execution.

Offshore wind

NYSERDA has selected three new offshore wind projects totaling 4,032 MW of clean energy.

The three offshore wind projects include:

  •  Attentive Energy One (1,404 MW) developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation. The project includes a novel fossil repurposing plan in Queens, which seeks to retire fossil fuel power generation in the heart of New York City and transition the current workforce to clean energy jobs.
  • Community Offshore Wind (1,314 MW) developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures. The project includes the utilization of a new grid interconnection being developed by Con Edison in downtown Brooklyn.
  • Excelsior Wind (1,314 MW) developed by Vineyard Offshore (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners). The project includes proposed cable route options providing robust energy deliverability to Long Island, leveraging the electric grid expansion provided through the Long Island Public Policy Transmission Need outcome.

The three offshore wind projects are anticipated to enter commercial operation in 2030. The average bill impact for customers over the life of the projects will be approximately 2.73 percent, or about $2.93 per month, NYSERDA said. The average all-in development cost of the awarded offshore wind projects over the life of the contracts is $96.72 per megawatt-hour.

This procurement also includes continued support for offshore wind turbine manufacturing, which leverages over $2 in privately committed capital for every $1 of New York public funding.

NYSERDA is also awarding $300 million in state investment to enable the development of two supply chain facilities including nacelle manufacturing and assembly by GE Vernova, along with blade manufacturing developed by LM Wind Power Blades USA, both planned for New York’s Capital Region.

This investment has the capacity to supply almost one-third of the total regional demand for offshore wind by 2035, NYSERDA said.

The offshore wind industry has been grappling with uncertainties recently, with multiple PPAs coming to an end and developers and utilities backing out of projects.

Rhode Island Energy recently pulled out of its PPA with Ørsted and Eversource for the Revolution Wind 2 offshore project — citing higher interest rates, increased expense and questionable federal tax credits — and concluding that the project had become uneconomical.

In July, Avangrid agreed to pay $48 million to pull out of a PPA with Eversource Energy, National Grid and Unitil for another offshore wind project, the 1,223 MW Commonwealth Wind located 20 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Rhode Island Energy, meanwhile, terminated its PPA with Ørsted and Eversource for the offshore wind farm Revolution Wind 2.

However, the U.S. offshore wind industry is making some headway despite the setbacks.

As Vineyard Wind and South Fork Wind sit on the precipice of delivering their first power to the grid, the pipeline of projects approved for construction has tripled in size, with more projects just weeks away from achieving final approval themselves. These findings are detailed in the Business Network for Offshore Wind’s U.S. Offshore Wind Quarterly Market Report, which documents key investments announced over the past three months, growth in state demand for offshore wind and notable policy advancements that drove the U.S. market forward between July and September 2023.

Land-based renewables

In addition, New York also announced its latest round of conditional land-based large-scale renewable awards, which are comprised of 14 new solar projects, six wind repowering projects, one new wind project, and one return-to-service hydroelectric project, totaling a combined 2,410 MW.

The average bill impact for customers over the life of the projects will be approximately 0.31 percent, or about $0.32 per month, NYSERDA said. The average all-in development cost of the awarded Tier 1 projects over the life of the contracts is $60.93 per megawatt-hour.