US project company Vineyard Wind, a joint venture (JV) of Iberdrola’s subsidiary Avangrid Renewables and Danish investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, has submitted a proposal to a solicitation by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) (United States) for offshore wind projects with a new proposal called Liberty Wind.
Vineyard Wind's proposal entails three project size options amounting 400, 800 and 1,200 MW, respectively. The company supports the largest variant, on grounds that it would be the most cost-effective option for New York ratepayers and make a significant contribution to the state's objective of developing 9,000 MW of offshore wind energy by 2035. According to the submitted proposal, Vineyard Wind will finance the project and plans to team up with the power transmission and microgrid project company Anbaric Development Partners for the transmission components of the wind park.
The solicitation for bids was launched by the NYSERDA in November 2018 with the deadline set on 14 February 2019 and the results of the bidding round are expected for spring 2019. The winning project will be granted a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
New York's future 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%. Around US$1.5bn will be invested in offshore wind and other renewable projects in 2019.