RWE-National Grid and CIP enter the running for New York offshore wind round 5
State's latest procurement for at least 2.6GW to replace more than 4GW lost to inflationary headwinds over last 12 months
A joint venture of RWE-National Grid was the first to beat the 9 September deadline for New York’s round 5 offshore wind solicitation (NY5) with proposals for its Community Offshore Wind that it says could generate 700 jobs and $3bn in economic activity.
The project replaces 1.3GW of capacity lost in the collapse of the state's 4GW round 4 in April.
Vineyard Offshore, the US subsidiary of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), also announced the rebid of its 1.3GW Excelsior project likewise voided last year after GE Vernova moved to nix its planned 18MW turbine that formed the basis of all awards.
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda), the regulator overseeing the energy transition, saw gigawatts of contracted capacity vanish over the last 12 months amid inflationary headwinds and supply chain turmoil.
“The buildout of offshore wind is an opportunity to do far more than just expand New York’s clean energy capacity, and we’ve designed a project that will deliver new economic opportunity to every corner of the state,” said Doug Perkins, president & project director of Community Offshore Wind.
“Offshore wind is necessary to meet rising energy demand and enable New York’s economic growth, and our project’s investments will create good-paying union jobs and help build an offshore wind supply chain that benefits the region.”
The developer declined to specify exactly how large its project proposal is at this time.
CIP said its 1.3GW Excelsior array, located some 24 miles (38 km) off Long Island, could power more than 700,000 New York homes. CIP and Iberdrola's Avangrid are partners on the 800MW Vineyard Wind 1, the nation's first approved commercial scale project.
“Vineyard Offshore knows how to deliver clean, reliable energy because we listen, learn, and develop our projects with the input of community partners,” said Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton.
Costly acreage
RWE-National Grid's Community is based on acreage in the New York Bight acquired in the federal auction in 2022 for $1.1bn — the most ever paid for a US offshore wind lease.
CIP's project is likewise in the Bight, with the developer getting a relative bargain at $285m.