Biden extends US offshore wind permitting streak with Orsted greenlight
Go-ahead for Orsted’s 924MW array to New York allows eighth project to begin construction as Trump election jitters raise stakes for industry
President Joe Biden’s administration approved the construction and operations plan (COP) for Orsted’s 924MW Sunrise Wind array to power New York, the eighth US project permitted to begin installation as sector activity ramps amid election jitters surrounding former president and current candidate Donald Trump.
This is the final approval by offshore energy regulator Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) following the record of decision greenlighting the environmental impact statement released in March.
"BOEM’s approval of the Sunrise Wind project represents another step in building a thriving offshore wind energy industry,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein.
“Sunrise Wind is a centrepiece of New York’s clean energy vision, and with this final federal approval, we can officially put the construction phase in motion,” said David Hardy, executive vice president and CEO of the Americas at Orsted.
It was initially contracted by Nyserda, the agency charged with overseeing New York’s energy transition, in 2019 at a levelised price of $83.3/MWh in 2018 dollars, terms that developers Orsted and formerly Eversource said were no longer viable in the post-Covid economy.
Biden strides
US offshore wind has made major strides this year as the Biden administration has ramped project approvals to eight so far and multiple arrays have begun at-sea construction.
Orsted, with new joint venture (JV)partner GIP, has already completed its 132MW South Fork array also to New York.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid are midway through installation of US flagship 800MW Vineyard Wind to Massachusetts, which is already feeding the local grid over 100MW of power.
Orsted continues its winning streak with the at-sea installation of the 704MW Revolution Wind split between Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Dominion Energy’s nation-leading 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind array has likewise begun offshore monopile driving.
While the sector has weathered surging inflation and interest rates as well as supply chain disruptions, its biggest challenge may lie ahead as former President Donald Trump mounts a serious challenge to the incumbent in the upcoming election in November.