The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has announced the cancellation of the 4GW Round 3 solicitation for offshore wind projects due to unforeseen technical challenges that hindered the progress of selected winning projects.
NYSERDA cited significant alterations made by GE Vernova to its offshore wind turbine product as the primary catalyst for the cancellation, leading to “material changes” in the wind farms selected during last year's solicitation process.
In a statement, NYSERDA explained, “Subsequent to the provisional award announcement, material modifications to projects bid into New York's third offshore wind solicitation caused technical and commercial complexities between provisional awardees and their partners, resulting in the provisionally awarded parties' inability to come to terms.”
The affected projects included Corio, Total, and Rise Light & Power's 1.3GW Attentive 1, RWE and National Grid Ventures' 1.3GW Community, and Vineyard Offshore's 1.3GW Excelsior.
As a result of these developments, NYSERDA decided not to finalize any awards for the solicitation and concluded the process. Instead, the authority plans to launch a future competitive solicitation to address the setback and advance offshore wind projects in the state.
Additionally, NYSERDA provisionally awarded $300 million of New York State grant funding to GE Vernova and LM Wind Power for nacelle and blade manufacturing in New York's Capital Region, linked to the provisionally awarded projects. However, these funds will now be redirected for the development of the offshore wind supply chain in New York through a future competitive solicitation.
NYSERDA emphasized its commitment to overcoming challenges facing the offshore wind industry and reiterated its dedication to advancing New York's offshore wind sector in alignment with the state's Climate Act goals. The agency pledged to announce next steps in the near future as part of Governor Hochul's 10-Point Action Plan.
