In a recent announcement, Governor Kathy Hochul revealed that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has finalized contracts for the projects selected in NYSERDA’s 2020 Offshore Wind Solicitation. The contracts, agreed between NYSERDA and Equinor Wind US LLC/bp for the Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind projects, mark a key milestone in the progress of offshore wind development in New York State.
The Empire Wind 2 (1,260 MW) and Beacon Wind (1,230 MW) projects were provisionally awarded in January 2021 as part of the second offshore wind solicitation from NYSERDA. The projects, which are expected to begin commercial operation in 2027 and 2028 respectively, will strengthen the NY economy and further drive investments in ports, directly supporting offshore wind projects while establishing NY as the hub of the offshore wind wind supply chain.
Financial Impact of the Projects
The contracts, which are available here on the NYSERDA website, will unlock public and private funding commitments of $644 million in port infrastructure. This includes $357 million for the nation’s first offshore wind tower manufacturing facility, which will be built at the port of Albany, as well as over $287 million for an offshore wind staging & assembly facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
Additionally, the projects will bring over $8.9 billion in anticipated in-state spending and create more than 5,200 jobs. Notably, these jobs will be backed by prevailing wage and project labor agreements. In Governor Hochul’s announcement, it was also observed that total project costs are approximately 7% lower than they were for the 2018 awards, indicating the competitively-priced nature of offshore wind projects as a source of clean, renewable energy.
New York Offshore Wind Progress
At 4,300 MW of procured offshore wind, NY is almost at the halfway point of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goal of 9,000 MW by 2035. You can learn more about the growth of the New York offshore wind sector on the NYSERDA website.
Additional New York Wind Energy Announcements
The first round of competitive awards under the state’s $20 million Offshore Wind Training Institute was also announced—marking the largest public investment in offshore wind workforce development by any state in the country. Specifically, the first two winning proposals will serve to support early training and skills development for disadvantaged communities & priority populations through LaGuardia Community College and Hudson Valley Community College.
It was also announced recently that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is set to hold a wind auction on February 23 for a 488,000 acre area in the New York Bight. There will also be a plan for a coordinated offshore wind supply chain effort between New York, New Jersey, and the BOEM, entitled, ‘A Shared Vision on the Development of an Offshore Wind Supply Chain.’
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YSG Solar is a project development company responsible for commoditizing energy infrastructure projects. We work with long-term owners and operators to provide clean energy assets with stable, predictable cash flows. YSG's market focus is distributed generation and utility-scale projects located within North America.
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Featured Photo by Nicholas Doherty on Unsplash.
