March 2, 2024
By Ramona Cornell du Houx
On February 29, New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul announced the State has conditionally awarded two offshore wind projects from its fourth offshore wind solicitation – a planned 810-megawatt project, Empire Wind 1, (developed by Equinor) and Sunrise Wind, a planned 924-megawatt project (developed by Orsted and Eversource).
“I promised to make New York a place for the renewable energy industry to do business, and we are delivering on that promise,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “Offshore wind is foundational to our fight against climate change, and these awards demonstrate our national leadership to advance a zero-emissions electric grid at the best value to New Yorkers.”
The competitively selected projects will create more than 800 near-term family-sustaining construction jobs and invest $2 billion in near-term enhanced economic development statewide, including developer-committed investments to support disadvantaged communities.
“Tailpipe exhaust is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions. These projects represent the dawn of a new era of opportunity for New York. Electric vehicles are already replacing gas vehicles with the tax incentives in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. With more EVs on the road we will need more clean offshore wind energy to power them,” said Dominic Frongillo, Elected Officials to Protect America Executive Director & Co-Founder. “Elected Officials to Protect America – New York applauds Governor Hochul’s leadership in advancing New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals with these projects. Offshore wind development will create thousands of good paying union jobs and power homes, businesses and cars while we transition away from using dirty fossil fuels.”
The projects, totaling over 1,700 megawatts of clean energy, will be the largest power generation projects in New York State in over 35 years once they enter operation in 2026, and will continue progress towards achievement of the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goal to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.
The South Fork, 132 megawatt offshore wind farm off of East Hampton, Long Island will power the community, and has just completed construction and East Hampton’s Deputy Supervisor reports everything with the buildout went smoothly.
“The buildout has shown us that it is possible to work closely with the industry and community to address concerns as this opportunity takes root. The South Fork offshore wind project will generate enough clean energy to the grid that will power 70,000 homes here in East Hampton, giving us hope and a healthy future,” said Cate Rogers, Deputy Supervisor, Town of East Hampton, Long Island, NY. “Offshore wind represents a future where we become energy independent from fossil fues. A future where people living in environmental justice communities breathe clean air, drink clean water and look forward to the future.”
New York’s 10-Point Action Plan serves to reinforce the State’s dedication to clean energy development, sustainability, and economic growth and supports the State’s progress towards achieving the Climate Act goals, with includes obtaining 70 percent of the State’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
“As New York continues to pursue the goals set out by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, it is critical that we push forward large-scale offshore wind projects that boost our clean energy infrastructure and create thousands of good-paying union careers for hardworking New Yorkers,” said New York State Building Trades President Gary LaBarbera. “We applaud leadership in Albany and NYSERDA for pushing forward these initiatives off the shores of Long Island and Brooklyn that will propel us to our climate objectives, help usher in a new green economy, and uplift our underserved communities. Our tradesmen and tradeswomen look forward to playing a role in pushing these crucial projects forward and pursuing the family-sustaining careers and paths to the middle class they create.”
As mature projects, Empire Wind I, located 15 miles off New York’s shore, and Sunrise Wind, located more than 30 miles east of the eastern point of Long Island, have already completed most federal and state permitting milestones. Empire Wind I received final approval of their Construction and Operations plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on February 15, 2024 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), granting the project a Clean Air Act permit. The permit was given after an air quality analysis showed federal air quality standards would not be compromised during construction and operation of the project, the agency said.
Both projects are expected to ramp up construction activity this year while driving local investments and enhanced economic benefits to New York State at cost-competitive rates. Today’s awards are conditional on successful contract execution. In addition, the Community Offshore Wind 2 project has been waitlisted and may be considered for award and contract negotiation at a later date.
“UPROSE and the Sunset Park community have long fought to preserve the industrial character of New York City’s largest industrial waterfront. Offshore wind is an opportunity to center racial justice and operationalize a just transition by supporting the community-led vision for a green re-industrialization and creating thousands of well-paying local jobs. We are dedicated to ensuring the development and operation of these offshore wind projects model a true Just Transition and serve as an example for the nation,” said Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director, UPROSE. “Environmental justice communities have been the reluctant hosts of polluting fossil fuel infrastructure for generations, and must be prioritized for clean energy investments in workforce development, local hiring, and community-ownership.”
Combined, Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind will:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over three million metric tons annually, the equivalent annual emissions of over 740,000 cars.
- Usher in the construction and operation of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal assembly and staging port, jump-starting over 400 construction jobs this year to transform the currently inactive 70-acre waterfront site in a disadvantaged community into a thriving offshore wind port.
- Invest more than $80 million in construction and manufacturing associated with advanced foundation components at the Port of Coeymans.
- Continue to make investments totaling $135 million in electric grid infrastructure on Long Island and $200 million in transmission related investments, backed by a Project Labor Agreement with Long Island skilled tradesmen and women, including heavy equipment operators, electricians, and line workers.
- Provide public health benefits resulting from reduced exposure to harmful pollutants – including fewer episodes of illness and premature death, fewer days of missed school or work, less disruption of business, and lower health care costs.
- Deliver a host of benefits in line with Climate Act goals, with over $1 billion invested in disadvantaged communities, $117 million supporting minority, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, and over $43 million in workforce development investments.
“NYC-EJA is thrilled to see these offshore wind projects moving forward. These projects bring the opportunity to greatly modernize our port and energy infrastructure while cleaning the air we breathe,” said New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Executive Director Eddie Bautista. “The re-industrialization of our waterfront, if done correctly, will employ our community members and it doesn’t have to be at the expense of our health. We look forward to playing an active part in the development and operation of these projects to ensure working class people within our neighborhood ultimately benefit from these investments.”
Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind were previously awarded by NYSERDA in 2019 as part of NYSERDA’s first offshore wind solicitation. As part of these awards, the projects will be held to new contract provisions that bring additional benefits to the State, including:
- New economic benefit commitments above what was originally contracted, including $32 million committed to community-focused investments in New York’s disadvantaged communities and $16.5 million towards wildlife and fisheries monitoring.
- Commitments to purchasing a minimum of $188 million of U.S. iron and steel, supporting U.S. manufacturing and the New York Buy American Act.
- Requirements for Labor Peace Agreements for operations and maintenance services.
“I would like to thank Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for their leadership and hard work surrounding New York’s fourth solicitation. The 800 family-sustaining Building Trades construction jobs that will be created as a result of this solicitation will truly move the economic needle here on Long Island. The opportunity provided by the offshore wind industry will allow the Building Trades to provide our pathway from community member to apprentice to journeyman for years to come; this pipeline provides a real path to the middle class for our local residents,” said Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties President Matthew Aracich.
The average bill impact for customers over the life of these projects under these awards will be approximately two percent, or about $2.09 per month. The weighted average all-in development cost of the awarded offshore wind projects over the life of the contracts is $150.15 per megawatt-hour which is on-par with the latest market prices. Following successful contract execution, NYSERDA payments under these awards will only begin once projects have obtained all required permits and approvals, have been completed and begin delivering clean energy to New York.
New York State’s Climate Action Plan:
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues to foster a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities.
New York is advancing a suite of efforts – including the New York Cap-and-Invest program (NYCI) and other complementary policies – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. New York is also on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economywide carbon neutrality by mid-century.
A cornerstone of this transition is New York’s clean energy investments, including:
- more than $40 billion in 64 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the State, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions,
- $3.3 billion to scale up solar, nearly $3 billion for clean transportation initiatives,
- and over $2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments.
These and other investments are supporting more than 170,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy sector as of 2022 and over 3,000 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations, which includes requiring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the State be zero emission by 2035.
Partnerships are continuing to advance New York’s climate action with more than 400 registered and more than 130 certified Climate Smart Communities, nearly 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the State’s largest community air monitoring initiative in 10 disadvantaged communities across the State to help target air pollution and combat climate change.