Hosted by The Oceantic Network. Visit our main webpage.
Project Submission: Transmission First Approaches in New Jersey + New York
Con Edison Transmission (CET) is a leader in developing and advocating for innovative and cost-effective offshore wind transmission designs that are necessary to unlock the substantial amounts of offshore wind needed to mitigate climate change. This innovative design and leadership are critical to solving the unique challenges of delivering offshore wind to dense urban centers on the East Coast.
CET has been active in two of the leading regions in the country building offshore wind, New Jersey and New York. In New Jersey, CET proposed the Clean Link New Jersey project which includes an independently owned mesh-network and power corridor design. This transmission-first approach is a first of its kind where a cost-efficient, environmentally sensitive transmission solution is pursued independently and in advance of the full 11,000 MW offshore wind goal set by New Jersey. The power corridor proposed by CET will allow multiple HVDC export cables to utilize the same strategic right of way and landfall location to deliver offshore wind generation to the PJM grid. This both maximizes capacity transfer and minimizes disruption to the shore communities hosting the infrastructure.
In New York, CET has participated in all aspects of offshore wind transmission, including each of NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind (OREC) solicitations as a transmission partner with offshore wind developers and the Long Island Public Policy Transmission Need (through its NY Transco partnership), a NYISO solicitation for a comprehensive onshore transmission solution to deliver injected offshore wind to New York State.
By using CET’s approach, states and developers will be better able to create solutions that benefit all stakeholders and can accommodate long term future growth. Advocating for a planned approach that anticipates the development of an offshore mesh network with robust transmission corridors will benefit customers in the long run, be more cost efficient and will result in a clean energy grid that is more reliable and resilient.
Project Submission: Using Technical Working Groups to Improve Stakeholder Engagement
To reduce uncertainty for the offshore wind industry and advance the industry in a way that is both environmentally and socially responsible, as well as cost-effective, New York identified effective stakeholder engagement as a crucial aspect of offshore wind development in the State’s Offshore Wind Master Plan and subsequent Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. In 2018, New York convened four Technical Working Groups (TWGs) on fisheries (F-TWG), maritime activity (M-TWG), the environment (E-TWG), and jobs and supply chains (JSC-TWG) to inform State decision making on offshore wind development. Supported by technical and facilitation experts, each TWG brings together representatives from their respective interest areas and the offshore wind industry; they also include state and federal regulatory observers that vet the findings of the TWGs for feasibility, necessity, and applicability to regulatory processes.
The objectives of the TWGs include improving understanding of, and the ability to manage for, potential impacts from offshore wind development; developing collaborative processes for identifying priority research needs and mitigation methods; and reducing permitting risk and uncertainty for developers by improving clarity and transparency in expectations and processes. Through the TWG forum, New York has successfully engaged stakeholders, increased information exchange, and reduced risks to offshore wind development in the State and beyond.
The effectiveness of the TWGs can be directly attributed to the input and diversity of their goal-oriented stakeholders within a framework that encourages transparency and flexibility. More than 240 organizations have been active members of one of the TWGs, while thousands of others have been engaged through TWG supported workshops, reports, or technical tools. The TWGs have successfully informed a range of decisions in New York and the broader region and have been instrumental in facilitating cross-sector communication. While the TWGs have been active since 2018, the stakeholder engagement process remains in its early stages as the industry continues to evolve, with a need to maintain momentum and institutionalize stakeholder participation in the process.
Project Submission: Construction of the First Commercial-Scale Offshore Wind Energy Project in the U.S.
Developing Vineyard Wind 1 in close cooperation with local and federal stakeholders led to the breakthrough of an entire offshore wind industry in the U.S. By submitting a proposal in response to the first offshore wind solicitation in Massachusetts, Vineyard Wind paved the way for offshore wind in the U.S. by showing that it could be competitive with existing energy sources. VineyardWind LLC (VineyardWind) has successfully permitted, financed, and is currently constructing the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind energy project in the U.S.
Other notable achievements include securing a strong and attractive financing package from a syndicate of leading project financing banks from a consortium of nine international and U.S.-based banks. Vineyard Wind is the first U.S. offshore wind developer to have successfully concluded this critical transaction. Vineyard Wind also executed an offshore wind Project Labor Agreement (PLA), the first of its kind in the industry, which guarantees approximately 500 union jobs during the project’s construction phase. The PLA also includes ambitious diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.
Vineyard Wind has a clear ambition to secure the long-term sustainability of U.S. offshore wind. Through a combination of local commitments and partnerships, Vineyard Wind has committed to local employment, network-building among local and regional suppliers in southeastern Massachusetts, and establishment of operations and maintenance (O&M) facilities on Martha’s Vineyard, and meaningful local support for infrastructure for local communities, while supporting the region’s climate change and renewable energy targets and helping local communities go green.
Interested in working with us?
hola@asterin.com
Looking for a job opportunity?
See open positions
1340 Smith Avenue #200
Baltimore, MD 21209 USA
(443) 652-3242
At the Oceantic Network, formerly known as the Business Network for Offshore Wind, our driving purpose is to inform, coordinate, and mobilize human ingenuity, enterprise, and labor to take advantage of the urgent need to tap the vast renewable energy resources that lie offshore in the world’s oceans. The collective, coordinated efforts of our members equip communities and nations to accelerate the transition to clean energy and create economic opportunities.
November 9, 2023
Fairmont Copley Plaza
Boston, MA