A trio of offshore projects totalling 4,032 MW have been successful in New York’s third offshore wind solicitation, paving the way for USD 15 billion (EUR 14.15bn) in in-state spending and bringing the largest investment to the state’s offshore wind sector.
The awards announced on Tuesday by New York Governor Kathy Hochul are conditional on the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs). The average all-in development cost of the winning proposals stands at USD 96.72/MWh during the contracted term.
TotalEnergies/Rise Light/Corio
Specifically, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has selected a project by Attentive Energy One (AE1) to deliver power from 1,404 MW of wind turbine capacity from a larger project in the New York Bight that also includes plans for two General Electric (NYSE:GE) wind turbine component production facilities and two offshore wind port facilities in New York Harbor. The proponent is a joint venture (JV) of TotalEnergies (EPA:TTE), Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation. The latter entered the partnership recently by acquiring a 27.7% stake in the 3-GW Attentive Energy project, in which TotalEnergies holds 56%.
NYSERDA noted it will grant USD 300 million to support the development of the two supply chain projects – a nacelle manufacturing and assembly facility by GE Vernova and a blade manufacturing base by LM Wind Power Blades USA.
RWE/National Grid
Community Offshore Wind, the US joint venture between RWE Renewables and National Grid Plc, was successful with a proposal to supply power from a 1,314-MW plant in the New York Bight. The wind farm will be installed as the first phase of a multi-phase development within a 126,000-acre lease area RWE won a year earlier, where 3,200 MW of capacity could be deployed. The economic benefits from the first stage scheme are estimated at USD 3.3 billion, the unit of Germany’s RWE AG (ETR:RWE) said.
The provisional off-take award secures the power supply of at least 500,000 US homes.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
The third provisional winner in the competitive round is Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Vineyard Offshore subsidiary. The company has secured an award for its Excelsior Wind proposal. The 1,314-MW wind farm set to be built within a CIP lease area in the New York Bight could generate electricity for over 700,000 households in the US state.
Apart from the offshore wind tender, NYSERDA has closed a competition for large-scale land-based renewable energy capacity and awarded 22 wind, solar, and hydroelectric projects with a combined capacity of 2,410 MW. Altogether, the selected projects will help power 2.6 million local homes and deliver roughly 12% of New York’s overall electricity requirements, adding a combined annual output of 19 million MWh.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.943)
