Vineyard Wind has proposed a new offshore wind project that would serve New York State.
The Liberty Wind proposal was submitted in response to New York’s recent offshore wind solicitation. Vineyard Wind’s proposal includes 400 MW, 800 MW and 1,200 MW options, but the 1,200 MW project would be the most cost-effective option for New York ratepayers, according to the developer.
The 1.2 GW Liberty Wind project would supply enough emission-free energy to power over 750,000 New York homes, estimates Vineyard Wind, which is a 50/50 joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables LLC.
Liberty Wind’s turbines, located in federal waters 85 miles away from the nearest New York shore, would not be visible from any New York shoreline, notes Vineyard Wind.
The project would deliver clean power directly to the New York grid at an existing substation on Long Island. The power would be delivered by a submarine cable that comes to shore and is then buried along an existing roadway onshore. The grid connection would use an advanced high-voltage direct-current system that would ensure reliable delivery of the energy and also enhance the resiliency of New York’s grid, particularly in outage situations during major storms, according to the developer.
“Liberty Wind will bring clean energy at the lowest price to New York ratepayers, along with substantial economic benefits for the state through investments in local infrastructure and businesses and by utilizing the state’s existing supply chain and workforce,” says Lars Thaaning Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind.
Vineyard Wind is collaborating with transmission developer Anbaric Development Partners for Liberty Wind. Anbaric has previously helped spearhead the development of two transmission projects serving New York. Vineyard Wind will finance and own the generation components of the project, and Anbaric will finance and own the transmission components.
“Our buried cable will bring renewable power into the heart of the Long Island’s electric grid, where it can be distributed to hundreds of thousands of customers in New York,” notes Ed Krapels, CEO of Anbaric. “This is the first leg of a well-designed New York ocean grid for offshore wind that will help achieve Governor Cuomo’s goal of building a planned offshore grid.”
In November, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, D-N.Y., issued a comprehensive solicitation seeking 800 MW or more of new offshore wind projects for New York. This offering, issued by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, kicked off the competition for New York State’s first large-scale offshore wind development contracts. Last month, Cuomo called for quadrupling the state’s offshore wind target to 9 GW by 2035, up from 2.4 GW by 2030.
Vineyard Wind is also currently in the permitting and financing process for its 800 MW Massachusetts offshore wind proposal.
