In clean energy portion of 2021 State of the State Address, Governor Cuomo announces selection of Equinor and BP’s 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 and 1,230 MW Beacon Wind 1 projects under ORECRFP20-1 and 2,109 MW of solar and 2 MW of hydro under RESRFP20-1; NYSERDA releases offshore wind workforce training RFP
On January 13, 2021, Governor Cuomo gave the third part of his multi-day State of the State Address, focusing on his administration’s clean energy priorities. He presented four main areas of focus:
- Build enough new renewable energy to support the state’s energy needs;
- Develop in-state manufacturing capacity;
- Train a clean energy workforce and ensure environmental justice; and
- Build new transmission to deliver renewable energy.
During his remarks, Governor Cuomo announced that the State had made selections from its 2020 large scale renewables procurement, RESRFP20-1, and its 2020 offshore wind solicitation, ORECRFP20-1.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected two projects proposed by Equinor Wind US (Equinor) and British Petroleum (BP) as the winners of ORECRFP20-1: the 1,260 MW Empire Wind 2 and 1,230 MW Beacon Wind 1 projects. As discussed in Flash Update 20-43, NYSERDA received bids from Equinor, Baystate Wind (a joint venture between Ørsted and Eversource), and Vineyard Wind. As discussed in Flash Update 19-28.1, NYSERDA also selected Equinor’s 816 MW Empire Wind 1 as one of the winners of its 2019 offshore wind solicitation, ORECRFP18-1.
NYSERDA also announced the results of RESRFP20-1. NYSERDA selected 21 solar projects and one hydro project, totaling 2,111 MW. The projects are also expected to be paired with 30 MW of energy storage. NYSERDA did not select any land-based wind projects. A map of the selected projects is available here.
As part of the efforts to address clean energy workforce development, NYSERDA also released NYS Offshore Wind Training Institute – Workforce Training & Skills Development (PON 4595), an RFP seeking training initiatives to prepare workers for offshore wind permitting, design, construction, assembly, deployment, and operation and maintenance. Bidders can propose to either expand existing programs or create new programs. All programs will be affiliated with the Stony Brook University and Farmingdale State College Offshore Wind Training Institute, which Governor Cuomo announced during his State of the State Address. Technical high schools, community colleges, universities, unions, training and job placement intermediaries, community-based organizations and non-profit organizations, offshore wind original equipment manufacturers, distributors, vendors, suppliers, developers, and trade associations are eligible to submit bids. NYSERDA may award up to a total of $3 million to selected bidders, but will only award up to $300,000 per proposal. Proposals are due by March 21.
In his remarks regarding transmission, Governor Cuomo highlighted transmission projects already underway through the Public Policy Transmission Planning Process (PPTPP), and previewed today’s release of the Tier 4 RFP (see separate article below), describing it as a competitive transmission procurement to connect upstate and Canada to New York City. Cuomo emphasized the need and ability to move quickly on construction of the identified transmission projects, vouching that the PPTPP projects currently under development will break ground this year.
We will discuss the ORECRFP20-1 and RESRFP20-1 selections further in a forthcoming Flash Update.