Finalized proposals for two large-scale offshore wind projects totaling more than 4.2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity were submitted in New York’s fifth round of solicitations just ahead of last Friday’s deadline.
RWE Clean Energy and National Grid’s joint venture Community Offshore Wind could generate 2.8 GW of clean energy, making it the largest proposal received by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to date. It would be constructed in two phases in the previously determined federal offshore wind lease area in the New York Bight and utilize two interconnection points- one at the ConEd Clean Energy Hub in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood and another on Long Island at the E.F. Barrett Power Station in Island Park. If the project is selected, RWE and National Grid are targeting 2030 for first power and full operation by 2032.
Ørsted’s 1.485 GW Long Island Wind project would power up to one million homes, attract billions of dollars of in-state investment, and strengthen the Danish developer’s growing Northeast hub. Ørsted is eyeing 2033 for commercial operation if Long Island Wind is greenlighted.
The two new proposals join a pair of previous submissions in NYSERDA’s stack: Vineyard Offshore’s 1.35 GW Excelsior Wind and Attentive Energy’s 1.275 GW AE1.
The planned projects are contingent upon selection by NYSERDA, the successful execution of an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate agreement with NYSERDA, and a final investment decision the respective companies. Contingent awards are expected to be doled out by November 8, 2024, with contracts executed and a public award notification in Q1 2025.
Did you know representatives from National Grid and RWE Clean Energy are speaking at GridTECH Connect Forum? Register now for the interconnection event coming up October 28-30 in Newport, Rhode Island.
“This large-scale offshore wind proposal offers an exceptional opportunity for New York to dramatically expand its clean energy capacity while simultaneously creating new economic opportunities for families and workers across the state,” noted Doug Perkins, president and project director of Community Offshore Wind.
New York State has a goal to develop 9 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035 in support of its plan to achieve 70% renewable electricity statewide by 2030.
“America’s clean energy future is being forged right here in New York, and we’re proud to have played a pivotal role in positioning the Empire State as a national leader in offshore wind,” said David Hardy, group EVP and CEO of the Americas at Ørsted.
As you may recall, Ørsted operates South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm and America’s first utility-scale offshore wind project. In late March of this year, the feds greenlit the country’s seventh such project, Ørsted (and formerly Eversource’s) 924 MW Sunrise Wind, currently under construction and slated to become New York’s second offshore wind farm when it is finished in 2026. Including the proposed Long Island Wind, Ørsted’s offshore projects are estimated to satisfy about 6% of New York’s total electricity demand.
Offshore projects continue to move forward despite choppy waters in the industry’s investment space. Last month, the Department of the Interior approved US Wind’s Maryland Offshore Wind Project, the tenth commercial-scale offshore energy site. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) also delayed its Oregon offshore wind energy auction planned for this month, citing “insufficient bidder interest.” The refrain feels familiar; this summer, BOEM nixed a planned second auction in the Gulf of Mexico, blaming a “lack of competitive interest.“ According to BOEM, it only received bidding interest from one of the five companies qualified to participate in the Oregon suction, prompting its postponement.
Ørsted is also building the 704 MW Revolution Wind off the coasts of Connecticut and Rhode Island, a project now expected to be finished in 2026, rather than 2025, as previously hoped. Eversource used to own a 50% stake in Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind but divested from those assets recently.
