New York on Wednesday announced that it is awarding 2,490 MW in offshore wind contracts to Equinor Wind US, the largest such procurement ever in the U.S.
Equinor and its partner, BP, will develop two separate projects: an additional 1,260 MW for the companies’ Empire Wind in the New York Bight, and the 1,230-MW Beacon Wind, to be located more than 60 miles east of Montauk. State officials had already selected the initial 816-MW phase for Empire Wind, and Beacon Wind could add up to 1,170 MW in the future.
“These projects will deliver homegrown, renewable electricity to New York and play a major role in the state’s ambitions of becoming a global offshore wind hub,” Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement.
The new contracts bring the state’s total OSW procurement to about 4.4 GW, nearly half the 9 GW targeted by 2035. Along with Empire Wind 1, New York in 2018 selected the 816-MW Sunrise Wind project and the 130-MW South Fork Wind Farm.
The terms for the latest deals have not been announced, but officials estimate the projects will bring $8.9 billion in investment and create more than 5,200 jobs, an economic stimulus sweetened by commitments from companies to manufacture wind turbine components in New York. For example, the country’s first OSW tower-manufacturing plant will be built at the Port of Albany; a turbine-staging facility and operations and maintenance hub will be set up at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal; and other support activities will take place at the ports of Coeymans, Jefferson and Montauk Harbor in Long Island.
Other Projects
New York also made several other announcements related to renewable and clean energy as part of the third segment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address, which began Monday. (See Cuomo Outlines Green Path for New York in 2021.)
The state issued a solicitation for transmission projects to bring renewable energy from upstate and Canada to New York City as part of Tier 4 of its Clean Energy Standard. The state is hoping these transmission “arteries” will feed a 250-mile, $2 billion green “superhighway” project
“Supercharging the new transmission superhighway will be vital to completing New York’s nation-leading green economic recovery and accelerating renewable energy development programs,” it said.
Transmission congestion around New York City could increase after the first 6,000 MW of offshore wind is interconnected without coordinated planning, OSW Growth to Test New York’s Transmission Grid.)
In addition, the state announced it will this year contract for 23 solar farms and one hydroelectric facility worth more than 2,200 MW.
It is also investing $20 million in a new OSW Training Institute based at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Farmingdale State College to train at least 2,500 people for jobs in renewable energy. New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and SUNY issued the first solicitation for advanced technology training partners to train the first group of workers beginning this summer.
Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, lauded the news but said, “There is some unfinished business in helping renewables get built, and that is providing some guidance to towns on how to properly value and tax wind and solar projects. ACE NY is calling on the governor and legislature to devise a pathway to standardized taxation for renewable energy.”
“The governor’s focus on transmission upgrades will ensure that the clean power generated by offshore wind projects is brought to the grid in an efficient and cost-effective manner,” Joseph Martens, director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, said in a statement.