Plans for Three Offshore Wind Farms Jettisoned by New York

AI generated image of an offshore windfarm with the Stars & Stripes flag flying in the foreground
The Americas Offshore
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Updated Published

The U.S. offshore wind industry faced a setback when the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) canceled three projects from its third solicitation round.

In October 2023, NYSERDA had provisionally selected three offshore wind projects: the 1.4 GW Attentive Energy One, 1.3 GW Community Offshore Wind, and the 1.3 GW Excelsior Wind. Attentive Energy One, a collaboration between TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power, and Corio Generation, aimed to convert the Ravenswood Generating Station into a clean energy hub. 

Community Offshore Wind, developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures, promised to deliver $3.3 billion in economic benefits and power over 500,000 homes. Excelsior Wind was projected to supply enough electricity for 700,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by 1.1 million tons annually.

NYSERDA had also provisionally allocated $300 million in New York State grant funding to GE Vernova and LM Wind Power for the manufacturing of nacelles and blades, linked to these projects.

However, changes in project specifications led to complications. GE Vernova shifted its focus from an 18MW turbine platform to a smaller 15.5/16.5MW turbine, necessitating additional turbines for the projects to achieve their planned capacity. 

This change prompted a failure to reach a consensus between the developers and GE Vernova on using the smaller turbines, leading NYSERDA to end the solicitation round without issuing final awards.

Despite these challenges and other recent setbacks in the sector, including Rhode Island Energy withdrawing from its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ørsted and Eversource for the Revolution Wind 2 project due to economic concerns, and Avangrid exiting a PPA for the 1.2 GW Commonwealth Wind project, offshore wind development continues in New York. 

The state progresses with the 810 MW Empire Wind 1, the 880 MW Sunrise Wind, and the recently completed 130 MW South Fork Wind, New York's first completed offshore wind project.