Wind

Huge US offshore wind array gets three-months grace from state to sort turbine crisis

2.4GW project left without 'viable' supplier by GE Vernova’s move to axe planned 18MW turbine and Siemens Gamesa's price hikes

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.Photo: Phil Murphy campaign
US Offshore Wind Editor, Recharge

New Jersey approved Invenergy’s request for a stay in development of its massive 2.4GW Leading Light offshore wind array to allow the project to sort out its turbine issues.

Chicago-based Invenergy requested the stay in development for the project awarded in New Jersey's third round after GE Vernova’s move to axe its planned 18MW model and Siemens Gamesa’s price hikes left it without a viable supplier, the developer said in its motion to the state.

Invenergy, which is co-developing Leading Light with New York-based energyRE, said it had already ruled out Danish turbine OEM Vestas on cost and technical considerations.

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), which oversees offshore wind development, voted in today’s meeting to allow the project to suspend development until 20 December to allow it more time to negotiate a new turbine supplier.

“We are committed in New Jersey to our offshore wind goals. It is critical towards our fight to mitigate climate change, and I think that this action will allow in Invenergy to find a suitable wind turbine supplier,” said Christine Guhl-Sadovy, NJBPU president.

“We look forward to them delivering on the project that will help grow our clean energy workforce and contribute to the clean energy generation for the state,” she added.

Wes Jacobs, Leading Light Wind project director, told Recharge: “The Stay enables continued discussions with the BPU and supply chain partners regarding the industry-wide market shifts.
“We will continue to advance project development activities during this time,” he added.
GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the economics of offshore wind “haven’t really worked for anyone in the value chain” of the sector and would need time for a reset.
He has previously said the US group won’t accept any more offshore wind orders unless and until projects meet GE Vernova’s profitability requirements.

New Jersey under its governor Phil Murphy, a strong backer of US President Joe Biden's ambitions for the sector, is targeting 11GW of offshore wind by 2040, which it procures through offshore renewable energy credits (OREC), each of which represents the environmental attributes of one MWh.

French oil major and offshore wind heavyweight TotalEnergies with partner Corio are leading the other project that was awarded a contract in January along with Leading Light, for their 1.34GW Attentive Energy 2 array.

Those projects were hoped to get the state back on track after New Jersey’s leadership position in the US sector was shaken last year when Danish developer Orsted withdrew 2.25GW of capacity in its Ocean Wind 1 & 2 projects, after concluding it could no longer turn a profit.
(Copyright)

Related

Published 25 September 2024, 17:09Updated 26 September 2024, 08:26
AmericasUSGE VernovaInvenergyLeading Light Wind