New York launches fifth offshore wind solicitation, starts building largest project 

Final proposals for the fifth solicitation are due on 9 September 2024. Offer price submissions are due on 18 October 2024, and proposals must be held firm and valid for 180 days from that date.

The competitive solicitation, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), is the next step in the state’s growing large-scale renewable energy industry. It includes provisions such as inflation indexing, labour provisions, stakeholder engagement requirements and disadvantaged community commitments. It also includes a requirement for environmental and fisheries mitigation plans describing development practices that will minimise impacts and workforce development plans. Evaluation of proposals will be based on a weighting of 70% price considerations, 20% economic benefits to New Yorkers, and 10% project viability.

The state’s largest offshore windfarm to date, Sunrise Wind, is a 924-MW project developed by Ørsted. The project, for which groundbreaking took place on 17 July 2024, will support more than 800 direct jobs during the construction phase of the project and will spur economic benefits from the Capital Region to Long Island – including a US$700M investment in Suffolk County. It will be built under project labour agreements ensuring local union labour’s participation in all phases of construction.

The project will be located approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, New York, with an approved transmission route connecting to the State’s electricity grid at the Holbrook Substation in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County.

As a mature project, Sunrise Wind has already completed all major federal and state permitting milestones and received approval of its Construction and Operations Plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on 21 June 2024.

Ørsted Group executive vice president and chief executive Americas, David Hardy said, “Sunrise Wind builds on the momentum from South Fork Wind as we deliver jobs, economic development and clean power for hundreds of thousands of New York homes and businesses. 

“We are successfully standing up a new American energy industry thanks to the outstanding leadership of the Hochul and Biden-Harris Administrations. We look forward to building New York’s largest offshore wind project, helping the state meet its clean energy targets while strengthening the local offshore wind workforce and supply chain.”

BOEM director Liz Klein said the groundbreaking for the windfarm “is further proof that US offshore wind energy is now a concrete reality.”