New York takes 2.4GW of onshore renewables to backfill giga-scale hole
State's target of 70% clean power generation by 2030 jeopardised by rising costs that saw 73% of land-based projects cancelled
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) announced Monday provisional awards for 24 late-stage onshore wind and solar projects totalling 2.4GW, further movement towards its goal of 70% clean power generation by 2030.
“Once completed, these projects will be capable of powering hundreds of thousands of New York homes and are expected to spur billions of dollars in direct investment and create thousands of good-paying short- and long-term jobs,” Nyserda said.
Nyserda, which is overseeing the state’s energy transition, is now moving to negotiate and execute firm contracts “over the next few months”, it said.
The PSC likewise rejected offshore wind's requests for cost relief, resulting in 4GW of projects cancelled or withdrawn.
As of 2022, 29% of electricity generated by the state came from renewable sources, about three-quarters of this power from legacy hydro capacity.
Accelerated procurement
Nyserda has lately ramped both onshore and offshore renewables procurements to meet these targets, and Monday also released a Request for Information (RfI) for its eighth onshore renewables solicitation slated for the second quarter of this year seeking feedback on key elements of the process.
New York has seen 8GW of offshore wind capacity scrapped, leaving it with just 1.85GW towards its 9GW by 2035 mandate.
Accelerated procurement of capacity could “lead to increased challenges around supply chain logistics and local construction labour availability,” warned Rachel Lynne-Davies, director of consulting and operations at Compass Renewable Energy Consulting, on LinkedIn.
To support supply chain development, Nyserda issued a $200m tender for tier 2 and 3 offshore wind manufacturers.
“New York is solidifying its leadership role in the offshore wind industry, building the supply chain right here in the State to build the industry and drive down costs,” governor Hochul said.
The funds are part of the $500m pledged by Hochul for the sector, which includes the $300m initially offered to tier 1 supplier GE Vernoca for nacelle assembly and blade manufacturing that had been awarded as part of the round 3 procurement, but which has since been rescinded.
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