On January 5, as part of her State of the State address, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the following additions to New York’s offshore wind efforts:

• A $500 million investment
• The 2022 launch of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)’s next offshore wind procurement (which will also utilize the above investment)
• The initiation of planning for a Future Offshore Wind Transmission Network
• A New York State Cable Corridor Study by state agencies to identify strategic offshore wind cable corridors and access key points of interconnection to the grid (as part of the transmission network effort)
• The launch of the Offshore Wind Master Plan 2.0 Deep Water
• The beginning of Construction at the South Fork Wind Farm in Early 2022

$500 million investment in Offshore Wind Efforts

Ports, offshore wind manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure efforts are to be the direct recipients of the $500 million in state funding and as indicated above, the Governor’s intention is to use this funding in conjunction with NYSERDA’s next offshore wind procurement. Private capital will also be sought.

Green Jobs

Utilizing this investment, the Governor’s offshore wind plan seeks to add more than 2,000 ‘good-paying’ green jobs to the 6,800 said to already have been created.

According to the Governor’s briefing book for her State of the State address, this is part of the New York’s larger push to create new jobs in high-growth industries that include technology and healthcare in addition to green energy, and the Governor has also set forth a plan to train workers for these new areas.

Economic activity

The offshore wind plan is also aligned with the Governor’s goals to “accelerate the Renewable Energy Economy,” and it is hoped that it will result in over $2 billion in economic activity for a combined $12.1 billion in economic impact.

The plan and the fostering of the renewable energy economy are also critical in terms of reaching the goals set forth under the New York State Climate and Community Protection Act of generating 70 percent of the New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

2 Gigawatts of Electricity for 1.5 million Homes

It is hoped that projects under NYSERDA’s next offshore wind procurement will generate 2 gigawatts of electricity, which is capable of powering roughly 1.5 million homes.

According to the state, this will result in over 4.5 million homes powered and more than 4.3 gigawatts of electricity.

Successor to the Offshore Wind Master Plan

Under New York’s Offshore Wind Master Plan, NYSERDA has been “conducting research, analysis and outreach to evaluate the potential for offshore wind energy,” since 2016, laying important groundwork for the state’s efforts.

The over 20 studies performed include an Assessment of Ports and Infrastructure, an Environmental Sensitivity Analysis and an analysis of Health and Safety issues.

The Governor’s new planning indicates a launch of version 2.0 of the Master Plan named “Deep Water,” which will carry the studies and efforts further.

South Fork Wind Farm & Future Wind Transmission Network

Under the Governor’s announcement, planning will be initiated for an offshore wind grid capable of delivering power to New York City, with a goal of over 6 gigawatts.

Still at a very early stage, a Cable Corridor Study must be conducted as part of this effort to identify “strategic wind cable corridors,” and to be able to access key points of interconnection to the grid.

Further along is the South Fork Wind Farm, New York’s first offshore wind project for which the Governor stated that construction will begin early in 2022.

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