New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued a comprehensive solicitation November 8, seeking 800 megawatts or more of new offshore wind projects for New York.
The first offering, issued by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), kicks off competition for New York State’s first large-scale offshore wind development contracts, an initial step toward its goal of 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030 to combat climate change. Governor Cuomo’s mandate is for 50 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.
Under the solicitation, NYSERDA has the ability to award 25-year long-term contracts for projects ranging from approximately 200 megawatts to approximately 800 megawatts, with an ability to award larger quantities if sufficiently attractive proposals are received. Each proposer is also required to submit at least one proposal of approximately 400 megawatts. Bids are due in February 2019, and awards are expected in Spring of 2019 and contracts are expected to be executed thereafter to take advantage of expiring federal tax credits.
Under the New York State Public Service Commission’s July 2018 Order, which adopted New York’s 2,400-megawatt goal and set the framework for the first phase of solicitations, NYSERDA will award proposals according to both the price offered by the proposer as well as economic benefits and project viability. Through these solicitations, NYSERDA will procure Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates, ORECs, from awarded facilities.
At around the same time, the Board of Public Utilities in neighbouring New Jersey (NJBPU) also unanimously approved an order opening an application window for 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind capacity. That would make it the nation’s largest single-state solicitation of offshore wind to date. It’s the first step in meeting the state’s goal of 3,500 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The vote occurred after Governor Phil Murphy called on the Board to open two additional 1,200 MW solicitations of offshore wind capacity, one in 2020 and another in 2022. These actions mark a significant move forward in achieving Murphy’s vision to transform New Jersey into a 100-percent clean energy state by 2050.
The Board’s action will allow developers seeking to build offshore wind facilities in federal waters to submit applications for approval. The application window was set to close on December 28, 2018. The Board intends to act on the applications by July 1, 2019, which should provide sufficient time for developers to qualify for federal investment tax credits that expire at the end of next year. These credits could save New Jersey ratepayers approximately 12 percent of the total project cost.