New York state has reached tentative contracts with developers proposing 24 land-based renewable energy projects totaling nearly 2.4 GW of capacity. 

The announcement April 29 is the result of the rush solicitation issued in late 2023, as 81 onshore projects with a total 7.5-GW capacity were in the process of cancelling renewable energy certificate contracts that were no longer economically viable. 

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority expects to negotiate and finalize the tentative new contracts over the next few months. NYSERDA won’t release details on the projects or their costs until final contracts are awarded. 

The state’s vaunted renewable energy development pipeline imploded in late 2023 and early 2024. Dozens of projects contracted years earlier had not begun construction when inflation and interest rates skyrocketed.  

En masse, developers in June 2023 said they could not proceed to construction under terms negotiated and asked for more money. (See OSW Developers Seeking More Money from New York.) 

The state Public Service Commission rejected their petitions in October, saying that renegotiating deals would undercut the competitive process by which they were selected. (See NY Rejects Inflation Adjustment for Renewable Projects.) 

Along with the 7.5 GW of land-based contracts that were canceled, developers bailed out on 4.2 GW of offshore wind projects. 

It was a serious blow to New York’s hopes of reaching the first of its climate protection milestones: 70% renewable energy flowing through the grid by 2030. 

NYSERDA undertook immediate damage control efforts, including onshore and offshore solicitations carried out far more quickly than past procurements.  

The resulting tentative contracts fell far short of the cancellations, however: 1.73 GW of offshore wind was announced Feb. 29, and the 2.4 GW of onshore wind and solar was announced April 29. That’s 4.1 GW of tentative contracts to replace 11.7 GW of finalized contracts. 

And the equation is worse than even that sounds: NYSERDA on April 19 announced tentative offshore wind contracts totaling 4 GW could not be finalized because the specified turbines would not be available. (See NY Offshore Wind Plans Implode Again.) 

Contract cancellations do not equate to project cancellations, however. NYSERDA expects many of the developers will attempt to proceed to construction eventually. But the reset inevitably will mean longer time frames and higher price tags in a state where energy development is already slow and expensive. 

One positive detail: The two provisional offshore wind projects chosen in February are mature plans that previously held contracts and are approaching construction-ready status. 

NYSERDA said all the tentative onshore contracts announced April 29 also are for mature, late-stage projects, and said some of them were among the mass cancellations of late 2023.  

That was a requirement to submit bids in the latest onshore solicitation: Projects had to have achieved late-stage interconnection and permitting milestones. 

The trade organization representing the developers that canceled the contracts, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, welcomed the latest news. It said via email:  

“Any day a renewable energy project makes progress is a good day, and we thank NYSERDA for announcing these 24 provisional contract awards from the recent competitive solicitation. Since the projects provisionally awarded today are further along than previous competitive solicitations, it is exciting to know they could be on the grid serving New Yorkers as soon as 2025.” 

Also on April 29, NYSERDA issued a request for information that will help it shape its eighth large-scale onshore renewable solicitation, which it expects to kick off as soon as late May and which could yield provisional contract awards as soon as October. 

However, NYSERDA is looking at pushing the timetable back a few months to better mesh with the NYISO Class Year 2023 Study. This could give potential bidders a better understanding of their expected upgrade costs prior to submitting a bid proposal. 

Responses to NYSERDA’s request for information are due by May 13. 

NYSERDA on April 23 issued a request for information to help shape its next offshore wind solicitation, planned to be issued in the summer of 2024. Responses are due by May 21. (See IPF24: New York Starts Another OSW Rebound.)