By GREGORY ZELLER //
For the second time in one week, New York has surged toward its offshore-wind destiny – this time, finalizing megawatt power contracts with billion-dollar implications.
A bevy of big-leaguers – including Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and many others – gathered at the Port of Albany Friday to announce finalized contracts between the state and two offshore wind-focused limited liability corporations, both partnerships of British multinational BP plc and Norwegian energy company Equinor.
The LLCs – Empire Wind Offshore LLC and Beacon Wind LLC – are behind the 1,260-megawatt Empire Wind 2 and 1,230-megawatt Beacon Wind projects, both of which are already years in development.
The Jan. 14 announcement closes Albany’s second offshore wind competitive solicitation. It also marks the second major announcement of the week regarding New York’s offshore wind-power ambitions, following the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Jan. 12 final sale notice for the New York Bight – a dinner bell for offshore-wind developers hungry for six prime parcels off New York and New Jersey.
Windy forecast: Hochul sees only environmental and economic upsides.
Hochul, who this week cited upwards of $1 billion in potential revenues for local businesses in the offshore-wind industry’s burgeoning supply chain, said the final deals with Empire Wind Offshore and Beacon Wind “maintain our cadence for developing projects that will spur much-needed green job creation and investment.”
“No state has felt the impacts of climate change more than New York State,” the governor added. “Now more than ever, we can continue to lead the way with our ambitious, nation-leading vision to transition to a renewable energy and a cleaner, greener future.”
The contracts were provisionally awarded in January 2021 through NYSERDA’s second offshore wind competitive solicitation, marking the largest U.S. wind award to date.
Combined, the final contracts include $644 million in public and private “funding commitments” for port-infrastructure projects, according to Hochul’s office – including a $357 million offshore wind-tower manufacturing facility to be constructed at the Port of Albany and a $287 million staging-and-assembly factory coming to Brooklyn, managed by the New York City Economic Development Corp.
All told, Albany anticipates in-state spending upwards of $8.9 billion – and the creation of more than 5,200 jobs – as the offshore-wind supply chain links up. Empire Wind 2 is projected to begin commercial operations in 2027, with Beacon Wind following in 2028.
Paul Tonko: Powerhouse prediction.
“These contracts with Equinor further solidify our progress,” NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen Harris said in a statement. “[They] will create new economic opportunities while building a new electric grid powered by clean, renewable energy.”
The end of NYSERDA’s second competitive solicitation also includes the first awards for the state’s Offshore Wind Training Institute, an “educational infrastructure” administered by NYSERDA, Farmingdale State College and Stony Brook University.
The $20 million institute aims to train and certify a workforce of 2,500 offshore-wind experts beginning this year. The first two awarded proposals will receive a combined $569,618 to support early training in “priority populations” – including veterans, the homeless and persons with disabilities – around Hudson Valley Community College and LaGuardia Community College.
United States Rep. Paul Tonko (D-20th Dist.), who joined the dignitaries at the Jan. 14 podium, said the finalized second solicitation plays “a pivotal role in expanding this industry, creating good-paying jobs, training the energy workforce of the future and helping address our most pressing climate challenges.”
“We know New York’s potential for offshore-wind development is tremendous,” the congressman added. “This forward-thinking announcement … invests in our region and pushes New York further down the path to becoming a powerhouse of wind manufacturing.”
