New York Throws Support Behind Offshore Wind with Three Project Awards

New York officials on Tuesday said the state has awarded conditional contracts to three offshore wind projects as part of a massive renewable energy procurement that will provide 12% of the state's power needs in 2030.

The announcement, which the state billed as the nation's largest ever investment in offshore wind, comes less than two weeks after New York regulators rejected requests by three offshore wind developers to renegotiate their contracts because of soaring costs. In response, Governor Kathy Hochul pledged to support renewable energy projects to meet the state's climate change goals.

The new awards, to projects under development by France's TotalEnergies, Germany's RWE, Britain's National Grid, and Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), are still under negotiation, the state said.

The more than 4 gigawatts of offshore wind power the projects will be capable of generating is the largest share of 6.4 GW of renewable energy procurement the state unveiled. Collectively, the offshore and onshore wind, solar, and hydroelectric projects will be able to power 2.6 million New York homes, the state said.

"Today, we are taking action to keep New York's climate goals within reach, demonstrating to the nation how to recalibrate in the wake of global economic challenges while driving us toward a greener and more prosperous future for generations to come," Hochul said in a statement.

The projects include Attentive Energy One, a facility being developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation; Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture between RWE and National Grid; and Excelsior Wind, which is under development by CIP.

All three projects are expected to start generating power in 2030 and will add about $2.93 per month to customer bills over their lifetime.

New York is also committing $300 million to the development of offshore wind component manufacturing facilities planned by GE Vernova.

New York Offshore Wind Alliance Director Fred Zalcman said the announcement "will go a long way towards instilling confidence in a market that has recently faced tremendous headwinds."

(Reuters - Reporting by Nichola Groom Editing by Bill Berkrot)