Rhode Island Launches 1.2 GW Offshore Wind Solicitation | Offshore Wind - Offshore WIND
Rhode Island Launches 1.2 GW Offshore Wind Solicitation | Offshore Wind
Rhode Island Launches 1.2 GW Offshore Wind Solicitation
Rhode Island Energy, the largest utility in Rhode Island, has issued a request for proposals (RfP) to secure an additional 1,200 MW of offshore wind to help power the state’s energy needs.
According to the utility, the 1,200 MW RfP is the largest renewable energy solicitation ever sought for Rhode Island.
Proposals can be submitted by the end of January 2024, with winners planned to be announced in the summer of that year.
Developer bids can include proposals less than or up to approximately 1,200 MW. said the utility. As part of the solicitation, Rhode Island Energy is seeking bids from potential developers to enter into long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for energy and renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Any future PPAs agreed to by the utility will be subject to review and approval by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
The RfP follows an agreement signed between Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut this month in which they request that offshore wind developers submit multi-state offshore wind project proposals for consideration through each state’s respective offshore wind procurement for selection in 2024.
“With a larger capacity available, a streamlined application process, additional flexibility on contract durations, and the potential for multi-state coordination, we believe this solicitation could provide greater economies of scale for developers,” said Dave Bonenberger, president of Rhode Island Energy.
“We’re providing more tools to help drive affordable offshore wind opportunities to our state and we look forward to seeing how it spurs innovation and competitive pricing from offshore wind developers.”
Rhode Island is home to the nation’s first offshore wind farm that sits in waters off Block Island.
Transmission upgrades are already underway for a second offshore wind project, said the utility. The 704 MW Revolution Wind wind farm, developed by Ørsted and Eversource, is planned to be operational in 2025.
A few months ago, Rhode Island Energy decided that it would not be moving forward on a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Ørsted and Eversource for the Revolution Wind 2 offshore wind farm, due to affordability concerns.
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Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.