Aiming for 100% clean energy, Rhode Island reopens offshore wind tender for 1.2GW
Round replaces solicitation cancelled last summer that attracted only a single bidder – Orsted and Eversource – which regulators deemed too costly
Rhode Island's main utility issued a request for proposals (RfP) for up to 1.2GW of offshore wind 13 October, joining the throng of US Northeastern states with ongoing procurements with the largest solicitation in the Ocean State's history.
The tender was released by Rhode Island Energy with bids subject to approval by the state regulators Office of Energy Resources and Division of Public Utilities.
“Offshore wind is critical in advancing Rhode Island’s 100% renewable energy standard and Act on Climate objectives,” said governor Dan McKee in a statement last month.
“It’s more important than ever that we continue to push for new opportunities to expand offshore wind generation in Rhode Island while ensuring it is affordable for future generations.”
State regulators determined that bid was too costly and shelved the procurement until now.
The new RfP coincides with procurement efforts in Connecticut and Massachusetts for a total of 6GW of offshore wind capacity up for grabs.
Massachusetts governor Maura Healey, Democrat, announced 4 October that the three New England states had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to coordinate in multi-state offshore wind procurements.
In her prepared remarks at lobby group American Clean Power's offshore wind conference, Healey said by aligning their procurements, the states will “leverage our collective buying power, lower project costs, and maximise benefits for ratepayers across the region.”
Other benefits from the arrangement include increasing efficiencies and reducing project risks for offshore wind developers.
Connecticut recently saw Iberdrola-controlled Avangrid withdraw its 804MW Park City Wind project due to spiralling inflation and interest rates, while Massachusetts has had nearly all of its contracted capacity cancelled in recent months for the same reasons.
All but 132MW of New York's 4.3GW procured offshore wind is also on the line after state regulators refused to renegotiate offtake contracts.
The revised RfP includes inflation adjustment mechanisms that developers deem critical for new projects to go forward.
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