Tenders for 4GW of renewable energy developments in USA

New York State Government has announced the largest combined solicitation for renewable energy ever issued in the U.S. to combat climate change.

The State Government of New York has launched the second offshore wind solicitation that seeks up to 2,500 megawatts of projects. The solicitation includes a multi-port strategy and requirement for offshore wind generators to partner with any of the 11 prequalified New York ports to stage, construct, manufacture key components, or coordinate operations and maintenance activities. The funding for port investments will include US$400 million in both public and private funding. In seeking at least 1,000 megawatts of offshore wind, coordinated with a US$200 million opportunity to support local and private investment in port infrastructure, NYSERDA will accept offshore wind bids between 400 megawatts and up to 2,500 megawatts. 

This RFP prioritizes funding for projects that will be operational quickly to help restart New York's economy and that will drive additional private investments in the industry and directly support offshore wind projects. The State launched the first phase of this process in October 2019, when it issued a Request for Qualifications that pre-qualified 11 proposers to participate in this competitive process, with the resulting proposals representing an unprecedented suite of projects, a strong indicator of market interest and opportunity. The 11 prequalified sites are located from Long Island to the Capital Region. These sites, now eligible to partner with offshore wind developers for up to US$200 million in public funding for direct use in advancing an offshore wind project and the long-term industry, have the potential to support various supply chain end uses such as staging, installation, manufacturing and operations and maintenance.

In addition to the offshore wind solicitation, the State government has also announced the issuance by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) of the nation's largest coordinated solicitations for land-based large-scale renewable energy projects by a U.S. state, under the State's ambitious Clean Energy Standard. Together, the combined solicitations from NYSERDA and NYPA seek to procure over 1,500 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes. Applicable land-based projects selected will be fast-tracked to construction under groundbreaking legislation passed in the budget to accelerate renewable energy siting to ensure the projects are developed responsibly and quickly so the state meets its environmental goals and mandate under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the solicitations, combined with a competitive multi-port funding opportunity are expected to spur approximately US$7 billion in direct investments and to create approximately 4,500 good-paying short and long-term jobs at applicable prevailing wages, helping to jumpstart and drive economic growth as part of reopening and reimagining New York State's economy. In aggregate, the offshore wind, port infrastructure, and land-based renewable trifecta of solicitations seek to procure approximately 12 million megawatt-hours, enough to power over 1.5 million homes annually. Together, taking into account the value of avoided carbon emissions, these solicitations are expected to deliver a combined US$3 billion in net benefits over the 20- to 25-year life of the projects.

NYSERDA's solicitation calls for the development of Tier-1 eligible renewable energy projects that will generate 1.6 million megawatt-hours or more annually. Eligible projects include any project that can be certified as a Tier 1 renewable technology and entered operation after January 1, 2015, and that enters commercial operation by November 30, 2022, with the option for extensions to November 30, 2025. The land-based projects selected will be the fastest to construction under groundbreaking legislation aimed at vastly accelerating renewable energy siting that was passed in this year's budget. NYSERDA expects to notify the awarded developers in early 2021.

NYPA's solicitation calls for the development of utility-scale renewable projects that will produce an annual output of up to 2 million MWh or more. Eligible technologies include solar photovoltaic and wind and may include an option to pair with energy storage.

Projects are required to interconnect into New York State and have a generation capacity that falls within the category of 20-25 MW or 100 MW or greater. The 2 million MWh goal can be served by one or multiple projects. The contracts offered will be for a bundled product which will include energy, capacity, and RECs. The selected projects are expected to come online between 2021 and 2024, and winning bidders will be announced by year-end 2020.

Each authority will evaluate the provisions by specific criteria outlined in the authority's respective RFP. NYPA and NYSERDA will coordinate regarding the timing of and award selections for their respective solicitations.

Offshore tender information can be accessed on our business opportunity page here. 

Renewable Energy Standard (RES) request for proposals can be accessed on our business opportunity page here.

To access NYPA's solicitation you need to register here.