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NY offshore wind plan adds pressure on utilities to procure renewables

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NY offshore wind plan adds pressure on utilities to procure renewables

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on Jan. 29 released its Offshore Wind Master Plan, a two-phase plan to develop and procure 2,400 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. The agency, known as NYSERDA, also filed a 117-page paper with the New York State Public Service Commission outlining several options for procurement models with costs ranging from $200 million to $1.2 billion.

The new report, which calls for putting 800 MW of offshore wind farms into commercial operation by 2025, adds pressure to utilities to help the state reach its clean energy goals and save millions of dollars. The targets "all depend on utility willingness to adopt a leading role in procurement of offshore wind projects," according to NYSERDA. The cheapest options — bundled and split power purchase agreements and utility-owned generation — rely on at least one utility to competitively procure offshore wind.

"The beauty of having these options is that everybody is going to participate, from the utilities to the environmental organizations to the labor unions," Joe Martens, director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, said in an interview. "Everybody that's got an interest in offshore wind is going to have an opportunity to participate and shape New York's program."

The commission will open a proceeding on the options paper and take public comments, Jon Sorensen, the Department of Public Services' director of media communications, said in an email. The commission will make a decision on which procurement option to pursue in order to support NYSERDA's issuance of a request for proposals for offshore wind projects by the end of the year.

The Empire State has been exploring ways to boost offshore wind for some time. In December 2016, Statoil Wind US LLC won the state's first offshore wind lease auction for nearly $42.5 million. That lease has the potential for more than 1,000 MW of offshore wind projects. In January 2017, the Long Island Power Authority approved a power purchase agreement for Deepwater Wind's 90-MW South Fork Wind Farm. In October 2017, NYSERDA asked the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to consider at least four areas to develop as much as 2,400 MW of offshore wind.

"While the federal government continues to turn its back on protecting natural resources and plots to open up our coastline to drilling, New York is doubling down on our commitment to renewable energy and the industries of tomorrow," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "We are drawing upon our world-class workforce, unmatched intellectual capital, physical infrastructure and financial institutions to develop this increasingly affordable clean energy source that creates good paying jobs while protecting Long Island's natural beauty and quality of life."

According to NYSERDA, offshore wind would bring 5,000 new jobs into the state and create more than $6 billion of in-state expenditures.