NYSERDA (US) finalises contracts for 1.7 GW of offshore wind capacity

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has finalised 25-year contracts with Equinor for its 816 MW Empire Wind offshore wind project and with Bay State Wind, a 50-50 joint venture of Ørsted and Eversource Energy, for its 880 MW Sunrise Wind offshore wind project. The projects have an average "all-in development" cost of US$83.36/MWh (in 2018 dollars) and will have an expected average subsidy, called Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC), of US$25.14/MWh. Ørsted has confirmed an all-in development cost of US$80.64/MWh and OREC cost of US$22.64/MWh, while Equinor has not confirmed costs for its project so far. Subject to final investment decisions (FIDs), the two offshore wind projects are expected to be commissioned in 2024. With a combined capacity of 1,696 MW, they should produce enough electricity to power more than 1 million New York homes.

In January 2019, the governor of New York announced a new offshore wind capacity target of 9 GW for 2035, which is a nearly fourfold increase compared with the previous target of 2.4 GW by 2030. The additions in offshore wind capacity are essential in order to achieve its renewable electricity target of 70% by 2030, up from the previous target of 50%. The state also committed to 6 GW of solar capacity (up from 3 GW) and to double its onshore wind capacity by 2025. The state also committed itself to move to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 in December 2018, shortly after the notice of a new policy setting an electricity storage objective of 3 GW by 2030 with an interim goal of 1.5 GW by 2025.