Iberdrola Enters New York Offshore Wind Race

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has submitted a bid in response to New York State’s second offshore wind solicitation.

The bid was submitted on Tuesday, 20 October, Ignacio Galán, Iberdrola’s CEO said while presenting the company’s results for the first nine months of 2020. No further details on the bid have been shared.

Back in July, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) launched the state’s second offshore wind solicitation seeking proposals for up to 2.5 GW of capacity.

The solicitation includes a multi-port strategy and requirements for offshore wind developers to partner with any of the eleven prequalified New York ports to stage, construct, manufacture key components, or coordinate operations and maintenance activities.

NYSERDA will accept offshore wind bids between 400 MW and up to 2,500 MW and awards and contracts are expected to be executed in the fourth quarter of 2020.

As reported earlier, Norway’s Equinor has also submitted bids to develop further projects offshore New York. The Norwegian energy major was successful in New York’s first offshore wind solicitation with the bid to develop the 816 MW Empire Wind Phase 1 offshore wind farm.

New York has set a goal of achieving 9 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035, which is so far the most ambitious target set by a US state.