The New York State Public Service Commission has terminated its offshore wind transmission planning process to protect ratepayers amid stalled federal permitting.
The Commission said the decision will position New York for faster offshore wind growth once federal policies improve.
With the federal government halting new offshore wind permitting, the Commission is terminating the ongoing Public Policy Transmission Need (PPTN) process. The aim is to ensure New Yorkers are not burdened with premature infrastructure costs, while preserving the flexibility to act quickly as soon as federal conditions allow.
The Commission said that while this decision is about timing and ratepayer protection, New York’s commitment to offshore wind remains strong, and existing permitted projects, such as Empire Wind and South Fork, would not be affected.
“One of our most important tasks is to protect consumers,” said Commission Chair Rory Christian. “Given the uncertainty coming out of Washington regarding offshore wind, we must act to protect consumers by withdrawing our PPTN determination; but this is far from the end of the story.
“We will continue to press forward regarding infrastructure needs for offshore wind in the future once the federal government resumes leasing and permitting for wind energy generation projects.”
The PPTN process began in 2023, when the Commission initiated planning for long-term transmission infrastructure to support the integration of future offshore wind energy to the grid.
The Commission determined that a co-ordinated transmission project was needed to deliver between 4.77 and 8 gigawatts of offshore wind energy into New York City.
The Commission sought solutions that could be constructed and placed in-service by 2033, a time frame consistent with the state’s goals for offshore wind resources.
The Commission referred this transmission need as a PPTN to the operator of the state’s electric grid, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), for the solicitation and evaluation of competing proposals.
However, the Commission said that recent federal decisions to halt the permitting and construction of offshore wind generation platforms make achieving New York’s offshore wind goal impossible in the near term and undermine the central purpose of the transmission solicitation.