Offshore Wind Developers Meet the Community
The September 15 OSW Developers Meet and Greet Networking Forum, hosted more than 80 civic leaders on Long Island to hear from offshore wind project developers on their aspirations to meet New York’s nation-leading goal of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030. The event, co-hosted by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, was an introduction of the eight developers vying for a the right to build New York’s next generation of offshore wind farms to government officials, labor representatives, environmental advocates, and community activists.
Two of the developers, Ørsted and Equinor, detailed the progress they are making on the five projects already under contract to NYSERDA. These include the South Fork Wind Farm, which broke ground earlier this year and is slated to be New York’s first windfarm (and the nation’s first utility-scale project) when it comes online in early 2023. The developers also reported on the progress they are making on port redevelopment, establishing a domestic supply chain, environmental commitments, and workforce training.
The forum was also an opportunity to hear from the six new leaseholders who, earlier this year, successfully won development rights to OSW Lease Areas in an auction conducted by BOEM. This auction fetched a record-smashing $4.4 billion dollars and allocated a large swath of ocean off the coasts of New York and New Jersey capable of supporting as much as 12 GW of new offshore wind generation. New lessees include: Atlantic Shores, Attentive Energy (TotalEnergies), Bluepoint Wind (formerly OW Ocean Winds East), Community Offshore Wind (RWE/National Grid), Leading Light Wind (Invenergy), and Vineyard Offshore.
The leaseholders documented their pedigree in developing renewable energy on a global scale, and vision for gaining a foothold in the emerging Northeast U.S. market. These developers are all competing in New York’s third offshore wind solicitation, set to procure at least 2,000 MW of offshore wind. NYSERDA will accord significant weight not just to the developer’s proposed bid price, but to the company’s Supply Chain Investment Plans (SCIPs) for attracting manufacturing of major components (e.g., blades, nacelles, cable) in New York State and creating high quality jobs. Bids are due on December 22, 2022, and awards will be announced by the state in the Spring of 2023.
Apart from project descriptions, the developers also engaged in a moderated dialogue led by NYOWA’s director, Fred Zalcman. This session focused on some of the key policy and programmatic aspects of New York’s offshore wind program and how to ensure that the goals of the program are met in a timely, cost-effective, and socially responsible manner. The wide-ranging conversation focused on among other things, engagement with the fishing community, supply chain issues, workforce development, opportunities in the deep ocean environment, and transmission needs.
