Reducing the carbon footprint of offshore wind projects and development partnerships will be the keys to success in New York’s second round of solicitations, the IPF virtual event heard today.
NYSERDA acting chief executive Doreen Harris said that, following the call to supply up to 2.5GW in offshore wind earlier this week, the environmental impact of project construction and operation would be critical for winning bids.
New York has set a target of securing 9GW of renewable energy by 2035.
She said: “We are looking for a creative approach from industry and among this is the embedding of carbon themselves.
“We have included this provision in the way that signifies our intent. We are very interested to see what the industry can come up with.”
The solicitation includes €339m towards port infrastructure. NYSERDA identified 11 ports suitable for working on offshore projects last year, located along the New York State coastline.
Harris said NYSERDA expected bids to be partnerships between developers, suppliers and these ports.
She added: “We seek solicitations that bring forward jobs and growth. The focus is on collaboration and benefits coming to disadvantaged communities and environmental justice.”
Harris said that NYSERDA had deliberately made the solicitation for such a large amount of energy to attract the best projects.
“We are going big as we know it will bring forward the best projects in the industry”, she said. “We expect more robust competition this time around.”