New York State cancels solicitation for new offshore wind energy projects
The South Fork Wind Farm, approximately 35 miles east of Long Island, is seen on Oct. 9, 2024. New York State on Friday canceled its latest request for new offshore wind energy, citing 'federal disruptions' and 'market uncertainty.' Credit: Tom Lambui
New York State on Friday cited "federal disruptions" and "market uncertainty" in canceling its latest and largest request for new offshore wind energy, months after several bidders had already pulled out of the process.
Nixing the solicitation puts an end, for now, to a plan that foresaw potentially thousands of new wind power arrays in deep waters off New York and New Jersey.
In a statement Friday, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which administers the state’s clean energy programs, said it "would not be prudent" to move ahead with its prior request for proposals for upward of 4,000 megawatts for offshore wind "given the current level of uncertainty" in the nascent, and troubled, U.S. offshore wind market. The bidding closed without an award "at this time," NYSERDA said.
NYSERDA in its statement said "federal actions disrupted the market and instilled significant uncertainty into offshore wind project development."
But other factors also played a role, including growing pains in the U.S. market following COVID-19, rising interest rates and increasing materials costs.
The solicitation was particularly hard hit by the 2024 revelation that turbine supplier GE Vernova was not able to make the most powerful turbines to date — some 18 megawatts each — that many of the developers had banked on to deliver power into the grid.
The solicitation had been a key contributor to the state’s plan for at least 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035, a goal that it is now almost certain to miss. At present the state is moving ahead with two projects, Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, which together will deliver just over 1,700 megawatts of wind energy when construction is complete in the next two years.
The Trump administration has twice stopped work on projects and vowed not to allow new wind power development during his term.
After canceling the first award, the state reopened the bidding for the solicitation and had been reviewing bids when the Trump administration took office in 2025. His administration immediately announced a freeze on new permits and leases, and has continued to criticize offshore wind, citing outsize government subsidies, national security concerns and harm to wildlife.
Proponents of wind power say it’s a vital component of strategies to combat climate change, and they point to success of South Fork Wind, the first federally sited project that is now delivering greater-than-anticipated levels of power into the Long Island grid at East Hampton.
Most of the bidders in the latest state solicitation, with the exception of Vineyard Offshore/Excelsior Wind, had withdrawn their projects in 2025 or earlier. Other bidders had included Attentive Energy, Community Offshore Wind and Orsted’s Long Island Wind.
Despite canceling its latest solicitation, NYSERDA said plans to move forward with a "request for information" to "gain industry feedback on potential initiatives to further offshore wind project readiness."
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
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