New York inches towards offshore wind planned grid as it readies Round 6 for 2026
State authority requesting feedback on synchronising transmission and generation amid shortage of coastal landing points for 9GW
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) issued a request for information (RfI) on how best to proceed with its sixth offshore wind procurement in alignment with a planned at-sea transmission system amid a shortage of coastal interconnection points.
The RfI seeks feedback on how “to optimise coordination between offshore wind generation projects and transmission projects” that are under consideration by the state's independent systems operator (NYISO).
Nyserda is charged with managing the state's energy transition.
So far, state procurements have required that offshore wind developers are responsible for transmission to the shoreside grid, leading to high costs and a shortfall of landing points accessible to the nation’s largest city.
In the first half of this year, NYISO launched a tender for transmission assets to bring at least 4.7GW of offshore wind power into New York City.
NYISO is expected to award a project in 2025, while Nyserda anticipates launching its NY6 for offshore wind the following year.
The state has the nation’s most ambitious offshore wind mandates, legally requiring 9GW of capacity by 2035. It has struggled to ramp its sector amid inflationary headwinds and supply chain turmoil that have seen more than 6GW of contracted capacity collapse.
New York currently has 1.8GW under contract, including Orsted’s 132MW South Fork array that is currently the nation’s first and only commercial scale operational offshore wind farm.
Trump is an avowed sector opponent and has threatened to derail offshore wind development on day one of his term starting 20 January next year, leading several developers to suspend projects.
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