Wind

Invenergy's Leading Light offers 'critical training' in $300m New York offshore wind pitch

The only US winner in the New York Bight spotlights labour and educational opportunities in the New York City borough of Staten Island

German offshore wind worker. A shortage of skilled offshore wind workers is a major bottleneck for the US sector
German offshore wind worker. A shortage of skilled offshore wind workers is a major bottleneck for the US sectorFoto: FredOlsen Windcarrier
  • Tim Ferry

Invenergy-led Leading Light offshore wind project is spearheading supply chain and workforce development in the New York City borough of Staten Island with up to $300m in investments.

The developer, which includes New York-based renewables firm energyRE, is bidding its 2.1GW Leading Light project into the state’s round 3 tender with proposals that include leveraging the Arthur Kill Terminal (AKT), the state’s only proposed deepwater marshalling and assembly port with no overhead restrictions.

Leading Light is partnering with CUNY (City University of New York) College of Staten Island with a $900,000 investment into offshore wind training programmes.

It is also launching its Offshore Wind Scholars Program, a scholarship to “connect students across the region to career opportunities in the offshore wind industry”, the firm said.

“Our partnership with the CUNY College of Staten Island is critical to train, educate, and equip capable New Yorkers with the skills necessary to enter the green jobs economy upon graduation,” said Wes Jacobs, project director for Leading Light.

New York’s round 3 solicitation which closed in January attracted six developers submitting over 100 bids in eight projects – “a record-setting level of competition among East Coast states”, the state said.

The auction to procure up to 4.6GW of capacity was facilitated by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (Nyserda), which oversees offshore wind procurement.

In New York’s multi-factorial bidding, 20% of each proposal will be evaluated on economic development and 10% on project viability, with 70% on cost. Leading Light has also entered into six other community partnerships as part of the project's bid.

The project is being developed in the joint venture (JV)’s 84,000-acre (340km2) New York Bight lease won last year for $645m. Invenergy is a pacesetter in onshore renewables and increasingly the US offshore wind sector and followed its New York Bight win with another lease off California in December last year.

It was the sole US developer to acquire acreage in the New York Bight and its bid into the state’s third round and will face stiff competition from an array of global industry veterans.

The JV of developer Orsted and local utility Eversource, already developing South Fork and Sunrise wind for the state, has submitted proposals for project capacity dubbed Sunrise Wind 2 in acreage purchased in 2015 for less than $300,000.

New York veterans Equinor-BP already are aiming to bolster their 3.3GW of contracted offtake with their 1.3GW Beacon Wind 2 proposal.

An alliance of German energy firm RWE and UK utility National Grid is pitching its 1.3GW Community Offshore Wind.

Copenhagen Infrastructures Partners (CIP) through its Vineyard Offshore Wind subsidiary put in proposals for projects on acreage off Massachusetts and in the New York Bight.

Attentive Energy, owned by TotalEnergies, has likewise included the Arthur Kill Terminal in its 1.3GW bid into the New York round 3.
New York has 4.3GW of capacity towards its legal mandate of 9GW by 2035 and has earmarked more than $500m towards port and supply chain investments.
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Published 27 March 2023, 19:17Updated 27 March 2023, 19:17
AmericasUSInvenergyNew York Bight Orsted