nyserda

This Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (draft GEIS), prepared pur- suant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), ana- lyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with the State’s procurement of this 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, and builds upon and incorporates by reference relevant material from NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind Master Plan.

The docket for this matter can be found here.

This letter submits an Area for Consideration for BOEM's Area Identification Process. Within the Area for Consideration, BOEM is urged to expediciously identify at least four new Wind Energy Areas (WEA), each capable of supporting at lease 800 MW, and to conduct lease auctions for these WEAs.

New York State submitted maps to BOEM of the four Wind Energy Areas within the Area for Consideration. As part of its Offshore Wind Master Plan, New York State began with over 16,000 square miles of area called the Offshore Study Area. The Area of Consideration represents approximately ten percent of the original Offshore Study Area, refined through a rigorous process.

Offshore wind energy will play an important role in helping New York State achieve its clean energy goals. To develop this valuable resource responsibly and thoughtfully, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is crafting an Offshore Wind Master Plan to outline the State’s comprehensive offshore wind strategy. NYSERDA is issuing an RFP to establish a pool of qualified contractors to assist with the development of the Offshore Wind Master Plan and associated offshore wind energy activities in New York. Proposals are due by Jan. 12, 2017.

To develop its offshore wind resource responsibly and thoughtfully, New York State is crafting an Offshore Wind Master Plan (Master Plan). While the Master Plan is not expected to be released until 2017, this initial Blueprint serves to outline New York State’s comprehensive offshore wind strategy and advance the State’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced today it will participate in the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) auction for a commercial offshore wind energy lease off the coast of Long Island. More information can be found in this press release.

A new study, conducted by the University of Delaware's Special Initiative on Offshore Wind for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, offers a roadmap of key strategic steps New York State can take to reduce costs of offshore wind power over the next decade. The study finds that ongoing technology and industry advances combined with actions New York could take, independently or with other states, could lower costs for offshore wind power as much as 50 percent and bring the clean-energy source closer to realizing its potential for "delivering utility-scale renewable electric generation" to New York City and nearby areas such as Long Island.  

A primary conclusion from the report is that supporting offshore wind development at scale, rather than on a project-by-project basis, could have the greatest impact on reducing costs.  Other actions the report cites that could lower costs include creating and using innovative financing mechanisms, developing infrastructure to reduce costs, and supporting site characterization for early projects to reduce development expenses and risk.

The study notes that while onshore wind development has expanded rapidly in the U.S., no operational offshore wind power projects have been completed to date due to complex construction challenges and the need for operational infrastructure that doesn't exist today in the U.S.  These factors lead to high costs and have delayed deployment.

The study identifies multiple paths for reducing offshore wind power costs in New York State, emphasizing that the "State can take actions in the near term to lower its costs substantially, independent of expected external reductions over the next decade." The study finds that taking advantage of wind turbine innovations and other technology and industry advances could lower costs about 20 percent. Direct steps taken by New York State could contribute up to an additional 30 percent reduction in a project's cost.http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/File%20Library/About/SIOW/New-York-Offshore-Wind-Cost-Reduction-Study-ff8-2.pdf