New York officers stated the state will put money into a number of new renewable vitality initiatives, each offshore and onshore, that may add 6.4 GW of fresh vitality technology capability to the state’s energy grid.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Oct. 24 stated the initiatives will ship about 12% of New York’s electrical energy provide as soon as all of the installations are accomplished. The brand new initiatives embrace three offshore wind farms with about 4 GW of capability. The portfolio consists of 22 onshore initiatives—14 photo voltaic farms, one new wind farm, six wind repowering initiatives, and one hydropower facility that’s being returned to service.
“New York continues to set the tempo for our nation’s transition to scrub vitality,” stated Hochul. “An funding of this magnitude is about extra than simply preventing local weather change—we’re creating good-paying union jobs, enhancing the reliability of our electrical grid, and producing vital advantages in deprived communities.”
Manufacturing Crops
State officers additionally introduced development of two factories that may manufacture blades and nacelles for offshore wind initiatives. Hochul stated the full package deal ought to help $20 billion in financial growth investments, together with $3.5 billion in builders’ commitments to deprived communities.
The brand new offshore wind initiatives are:
- Attentive Vitality One (1,404 MW), developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Gentle & Energy, and Corio Era.
- Neighborhood Offshore Wind (1,314 MW), developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and Nationwide Grid Ventures.
- Excelsior Wind (1,314 MW), developed by Winery Offshore (Copenhagen Infrastructure Companions).
Ross Gould, vp of provide chain growth and analysis on the Enterprise Community for Offshore Wind, in an announcement stated, “New York took an essential step towards getting the state’s offshore wind trade again on observe immediately with a colossal dedication to 3 new initiatives producing over 4 GW of offshore wind vitality. It’s no secret that New York’s clear vitality and offshore wind targets are unsure after the state’s latest choices threw uncertainty into the market, and we encourage the state to meet its Motion Plan by discovering paths ahead for beforehand awarded initiatives and stabilizing the state’s offshore wind trade.”
Different Tasks Stalled
New York at present is constructing the 132-MW South Fork offshore wind farm. 4 different proposed offshore wind initiatives have stalled after state regulators on Oct. 12 denied requests from the undertaking builders to renegotiate development contracts. Different points have slowed growth as properly.
Hochul was just lately criticized for vetoing a invoice that may have approved the town of Lengthy Seaside, on Lengthy Island, to permit Equinor, the developer of a serious wind farm undertaking off the coast, to position a transmission cable underneath a stretch of city-owned seaside. Lengthy Seaside officers have stated the generators for the undertaking, although deliberate a minimum of 14 miles offshore, can be a visible blight. Residents even have stated they might lose income from tourism throughout development.
Moira Cyphers, the director of Japanese Area State Affairs for the American Clear Energy Affiliation, criticized Hochul after the governor vetoed the laws.
“Governor Hochul should get severe about reaching 70% clear vitality by 2030,” Cyphers stated in an announcement on Oct. 20. “At this time, she dealt a big blow to the state’s personal targets by vetoing laws that may permit an area authorities to barter for itself in looking for the supply of fresh, inexpensive energy generated by offshore wind. New York is coming dangerously near serving a dying knell for the promise of offshore wind growth within the area. We urge Governor Hochul to help this important trade and the hundreds of jobs it is going to create with actual motion. She should put New York again on observe to creating these important clear vitality initiatives and dwelling as much as the state’s promise of being a clear vitality chief.”
New York has a objective for renewable vitality to offer a minimum of 70% of the state’s electrical energy by 2030, and officers stated the initiatives introduced Tuesday will allow that concentrate on to be reached. They stated that working, contracted, and under-development initiatives would provide a minimum of 79% of the state’s energy wants based mostly on present projections.
Offtake Contract
Hochul on Tuesday additionally introduced that Neighborhood Offshore Wind, a three way partnership of RWE and Nationwide Grid Ventures, was provisionally awarded a 1.3-GW offtake contract as a part of the state’s third solicitation for offshore wind. The undertaking can be developed as the primary of a number of phases situated inside Neighborhood Offshore Wind’s 3.2-GW seabed lease within the New York Bight, acquired throughout a federal public sale by the Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration in 2022.
Sam Eaton, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC, in an announcement stated: “The RWE crew, in collaboration with our companions at Nationwide Grid Ventures, is grateful to Gov. Hochul and NYSERDA [New York State Research and Development Authority] for the chance to ship one of many largest offshore wind initiatives within the U.S. whereas creating good-paying union jobs, localizing the offshore wind provide chain, and producing long-lasting financial advantages for deprived communities. At this time’s announcement solidifies New York’s place as a nationwide chief within the vitality transition with a honest dedication to attaining its bold local weather targets. We look ahead to partnering with the State to ship a world-class undertaking.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
