New York Update: The Bids Are In!
On February 14, the New York offshore wind program celebrated Valentine’s Day by receiving 18 separate bids from four developers, ranging from 400 megawatts (MW) up to 1200MW per bid. The four projects submitting bids were:
- Liberty Wind, Vineyard Wind and Anbaric
- Empire Wind, Equinor
- Sunrise Wind, Ørsted and Eversource
- Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US
A fifth project, Mayflower Wind Energy, had indicated an interest in submitting a proposal but did not do so. The bids came from projects as near as 14 miles to Long Island, and as far as 85 miles.
Public versions of the 18 proposals can be found on the NYSERDA 2018 Solicitation page linked below:
NYSERDA said it will announce the winning bid or bidders this spring. It expects to hold another solicitation for offshore power projects next year.
New Jersey Update—Ørsted Grabs Headlines, Tax Credit Program and More
As the Network has covered previously, New Jersey received three bids for its solicitation in December. One of those projects, Ocean Wind (Ørsted), made some news by alerting New Jersey mariners that its 170-foot surveying vessel would be studying waters off both the recently closed Oyster Creek nuclear plant and soon-to-close B.L. England coal plant in Cape May County farther south.
Both sites could be potential interconnection locations for the Ocean Wind project off of Atlantic City. The South Jersey Times editorial board quickly supported the move, calling the potential Ørsted grid connection “an energy-policy game changer” and a “win-win.”
Offshore Wind Tax Credit: New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) recently opened applications for its Offshore Wind Tax Credit Program, which is intended to attract investment into New Jersey’s offshore wind industry. This program provides reimbursements for capital investments in offshore wind facilities located in the state’s seven southern counties.
Prior to submitting an application for the Offshore Wind Tax Credit Program, please contact Maciek Bury, NJEDA Project Officer, at mbury@njeda.com. Please click here to access the Offshore Wind Tax Credit Program application.
Offshore Wind Strategic Plan Roundtables: The New Jersey OWSP team is continuing to research and develop the strategic plan. During the first quarter of 2019 they will convene Roundtable Discussions focused upon key assets and issues of interest to offshore wind development. These stakeholder meetings will be led by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in collaboration with the relevant inter-agency task force (IATF) agencies. Roundtable Meetings topics will include:
- Environmental Protection
- Fisheries
- Wholesale Energy Markets
- Transmission
- Supply Chain and Workforce Development
- Ports and Harbors.