Huge US offshore wind project pleads for new delay as turbine woes go on

Invenergy and energyRE’s 2.4GW Leading Light offshore wind project to New Jersey has requested an extension of its contract pause as it remains without a major equipment supplier amid market tumult, the developers said.

On the eve of the stay’s expiration on 20 December, a law firm representing Leading Light requested an extension as it has still not resolved its equipment issues.

“The offshore wind equipment market continues to experience significant price volatility and the Company has not yet identified a solution to that volatility,” law firm Saul Ewing said in its request to NJBPU on 19 December.

The request is for an additional five months pause, Chicago-based Invenergy confirmed.

“This additional time will allow us to continue to navigate ongoing market shifts and supply chain challenges, as we work to advance development of this important project for New Jersey,” said Wes Jacobs, project director.

Leading Light was awarded last January in the state’s Round 3 along with TotalEnergies/Corio’s 1.3GW Attentive Energy 2.

The project had originally planned on using GE Vernova’s 18MW turbines that were later scrapped by the OEM, a decision that likewise caused New York to void its entire 4GW Round 3 that similarly depended on the supersize unit.

GE Vernova is supplying its 13.7MW models to Vineyard Wind in the US and Dogger Bank in the UK but has decided to stay out of offshore wind after these projects are completed until the market improves.

Leading Light’s second choice, Siemens Gamesa, then raised its prices to uneconomical heights for the array bid at a starting rate of $113/MWh, while Vestas had already been ruled out as also being too expensive.

“The Board will issue a decision on the motion at a future meeting; there is no specific deadline for the Board’s action,” the agency added.

The challenges facing the project are emblematic of the entire US industry buffeted by inflationary headwinds and supply chain turmoil that led to three quarters of projects scrapped or renegotiated over the last two years.

Trump impact

Much of this capacity was later re-awarded at higher prices, but lingering issues face the industry, and with the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency, might only worsen.

“You won't have to worry about governor [Phil] Murphy's 157 windmills,” he promised the crowd at the Jersey Shore destination of Wildwood, apparently referencing Shell-EDF's Atlantic Shores project to the state that aims to deploy 157 turbines.

Atlantic Shores is in contract renegotiations with the state for its array that was bid at a levelised nominal price of $58.8/MWh, according to data from industry group American Clean Power Association.

Trump’s threats against the sector have caused TotalEnergies to pull its previously cancelled Attentive Energy 1 out of New York’s latest procurement, while RWE which is also heavily invested in the US sector has warned of likely project delays.