New York’s Three New Gigawatt-Scale Offshore Wind Projects to Bring USD 15 Billion in In-State Spending

Business & Finance

October 25, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has selected Attentive Energy One, Community Offshore Wind, and Excelsior Wind projects, totalling 4,032 MW in generation capacity, in the state’s third offshore wind solicitation round.

In this article:

Attentive Energy One
Community Offshore Wind
Excelsior Wind

The three offshore wind projects are estimated to bring more than USD 15 billion (around EUR 14.2 billion) in anticipated in-state spending and create more than 4,200 jobs across Long Island, New York City and the Capital Region over their 25-year lifespan, according to NYSERDA.

The 25-year contracts will include an inflation adjustment mechanism to compensate for changes in construction costs until final investment decisions are reached for the projects.

The average bill impact for customers over the life of the projects will be approximately 2.73 per cent, or about USD 2.93 (approximately EUR 2.77) per month. The average all-in development cost of the awarded offshore wind projects over the life of the contracts is USD 96.72/MWh (approximately EUR 91.30), according to information from NYSERDA.

The projects, expected to enter into operation by 2030, will employ a mix of flexible and innovative transmission designs, including a reduced footprint in transmitting energy from offshore wind projects to New York City through high voltage direct current (HVDC) and adaptable meshed-ready offshore electrical substations.

NYSERDA says that the 4 GW capacity across the three (for now provisionally) awarded projects is expected to displace over 7 million tonnes of CO2 annually, equivalent to removing 1.6 million cars from the road each year.

Attentive Energy One

The 1,404 MW Attentive Energy One offshore wind farm is being developed by a consortium comprising TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation.

The consortium is developing two offshore wind farms in the lease area which was secured in the record-breaking New York Bight auction last year. Earlier this month, the project partners announced the bid for the 1,342 MW Attentive Energy Two project in New Jersey’s third offshore wind solicitation.

Shortly before NYSERDA issued the results of the third offshore wind procurement round in New York, TotalEnergies, Corio and Rise Light & Power announced an agreement under which all three partners have shares in the Attentive Energy development that aims to develop more than 3 GW of offshore wind capacity at the lease site off New York and New Jersey.

The project now selected in New York’s procurement round is planned to be commissioned in 2029.

The Attentive Energy One offshore wind farm includes a novel fossil repurposing plan in Queens, which seeks to retire a fossil fuel power plant in New York City and transition the current workforce to clean energy jobs.

The project will enable the construction of a new General Electric facility to manufacture offshore wind blades and nacelles and unlock USD 300 million in investments in various community-focused projects across New York State, the consortium behind the project says.

According to a press release from TotalEnergies, alongside the inflation adjustment provided through this solicitation, the profitability of the Attentive Energy One project is ensured by the guaranteed level of Offshore Renewable Energy Credit (OREC) revenue, the benefit of a 40 per cent IRA tax credit, the secured access to New York electricity grid brought by Rise and the local supply of turbines by General Electric at a competitive set price.

Community Offshore Wind

The 1,314 MW Community Offshore Wind project is being developed by a joint venture between RWE and National Grid Ventures.

The project will be developed as the first of multiple phases located within the lease area in the New York Bight that was also acquired during the federal auction by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in 2022. The entire lease area can house 3.2 GW of installed offshore wind capacity.

In a press release on 24 October, RWE said that as part of the offtake award from NYSERDA, Community Offshore Wind would play a significant role in strengthening the domestic supply chain, including through a commitment to purchasing New York-made blades and nacelles, in partnership with General Electric.

The project will also make a direct investment of USD 41 million in economic development and workforce programmes, as well as dedicate USD 38 million in wildlife and fisheries research, mitigation, and enhancement. This is in addition to the project’s recent announcement to partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on a first-of-its-kind Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, RWE said.

The Community Wind project in New York will utilise the new grid interconnection being developed by Con Edison in downtown Brooklyn.

RWE and National Grid also submitted a proposal to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in the state’s third offshore wind solicitation. The Community Offshore Wind project planned to connect to the grid in New Jersey has an installed capacity of 1.3 GW.

Excelsior Wind

The 1,314 MW Excelsior Wind offshore wind farm is being developed by Vineyard Offshore (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners), with the lease area also secured in last year’s New York Bight offshore wind auction.

NYSERDA says that the project includes proposed cable route options providing robust energy deliverability to Long Island, leveraging the electric grid expansion provided through the Long Island Public Policy Transmission Need outcome.

The preferred supplier for the project’s wind turbines is also General Electric which would produce the blades and nacelles manufactured in upstate New York.

In New York’s third offshore wind solicitation, Vineyard Offshore submitted a proposal to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop two 1.3 GW projects: Excelsior Wind and Liberty Wind.

In January this year, the developer said the two project proposals included USD 90 million dollars in direct investments to support New York’s workforce training initiatives, expand in-state manufacturing, commercial innovation and supply chain opportunities for small businesses, as well as to preserve and protect the state’s critical natural resources.