NYC Unveils USD 191 Million Offshore Wind Vision

Mayor of the City of New York Bill de Blasio and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) have revealed a 15-year USD 191 million (around EUR 162 million) Offshore Wind Vision (OSW) plan to make New York City a leading destination for the offshore wind industry.

The OSW plan also includes climate goals of 100 per cent clean electricity by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050, according to NYCEDC.

The USD 191 million offshore wind investment will put New York City on the path to create over 13,000 jobs and generate USD 1.3 billion in average annual investment, ensure 40 per cent of job and investment benefits are directed toward women, minorities, and environmental justice communities and reduce 34.5 million tons of CO2 which is the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars from roadways for 15 years, NYCEDC said.

According to NYCEDC, New York City will work to develop infrastructure that will support the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. As envisioned by the plan, the city will expand its manufacturing sector to build, stage, and install wind turbines and ensure they can be serviced and powered locally.

The city will also focus on targeted investments to develop workforce trainings and support businesses that seek to create a diverse talent pool in offshore wind. The plan further aims to support Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) and other local companies in accessing over USD 70 billion expected to be created by the offshore wind industry, NYCEDC said.

Finally, New York City will work to promote research and innovation in the offshore wind, so new technologies and approaches are created in New York City. NYCEDC will work with the offshore wind industry and partners to launch an accelerator that will allow New York-based startups to build out the next generation of offshore wind technologies to support worldwide growth and advancement in the field, according to NYCEDC.

The OSW Vision Plan will seek to attract additional federal, state, and private investments to drive industry growth to make the long-term vision a reality. To help ensure progress is made, NYCEDC will establish an Offshore Wind Industry Advisory Council led by co-chairs Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE, and KC Sahl, Northeast Energy Market Leader at VHB, a civil engineering firm active in the offshore wind industry. The council will also include additional community, business, and nonprofit leaders with relevant expertise and experience, NYCEDC said.

According to NYCEDC, New York City is positioned to become an offshore wind business development hub in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Across the country, states have established targets to procure a total of over 29 gigawatts of  offshore wind  by 2035.

The northeast region accounts for 23 GW of that total, with the New York State target at 9 GW. New York City is positioned to seize upon this activity with advantages including a central location on the East Coast, within 250 miles of the overwhelming majority of planned wind farm developments, a robust pipeline of local offshore procurements, including a planned 9 GW of OSW in New York State.

Back in 2019, the State of New York selected Bay State Wind, a joint venture between Ørsted and Eversource Energy, and Equinor to develop two separate offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of around 1.7GW.

Bay State Wind’s Sunrise Wind was selected to negotiate a 25-year offshore wind renewable energy certificate (OREC) for an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 880MW.

Subject to contract signing and Ørsted’s and Eversource’s final investment decision, the wind farm is expected to be operational in 2024.

Equinor’s Empire Wind project will have a capacity of 816MW. The project is expected to be developed with 60-80 wind turbines, with an installed capacity of more than 10MW each.

Total investments will be approximately USD 3 billion, and the project will be able to power over 500,000 homes in New York, with an expected start-up in late 2024.