BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut received proposals Wednesday for offshore wind projects as the three East Coast states hope to boost their reliance on the renewable energy source.

The three states joined in a historic agreement that allows for potential coordinated selection of offshore wind projects.

Massachusetts received bids from Avangrid Renewables, South Coast Wind Energy, and Vineyard Offshore in response to the region’s largest solicitation to date for offshore wind, seeking up to 3,600 megawatts.

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration “will review bids over the coming months, and coordinate with Connecticut and Rhode Island to evaluate multi-state projects that would increase benefits for the region, lower costs, and enhance project viability,” Massachusetts Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony said in a press release.

Rhode Island announced Wednesday that it will evaluate proposals from Avangrid Renewables, Orsted, SouthCoast Wind Energy, and Vineyard Offshore. It had requested proposals for approximately 1,200 megawatts of power.

Rhode Island acting Energy Commissioner Chris Kearns said the state looks forward to “reviewing the proposals with Rhode Island Energy along with Massachusetts and Connecticut state energy offices over the next few months.”

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also announced Wednesday that it received proposals from four project developers under the multistate request.

Connecticut is seeking up to 2,000 megawatts of new offshore wind, which would add to the 304 megawatts of offshore wind power it will receive from the Revolution Wind project, which was jointly selected by Connecticut and Rhode Island and is now under development.

“We look forward to evaluating the submitted proposals received under this RFP over the coming months and coordinating review of any multi-state proposals received with Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said.

The agency expects to announce in the third quarter of 2024 whether any projects have been selected.

Vineyard Offshore submitted a proposal for a 1,200-megawatt offshore wind project to the three states in response to their solicitation for up to 6,800 megawatts of offshore wind capacity.

“Vineyard Offshore knows how to deliver offshore wind to New England, and that’s by earning the trust of the communities we work in,” Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton said.

Ørsted announced it has submitted a proposal for a 1,184-megawatt Starboard Wind project, which would power more than 600,000 homes in Rhode Island.

Avangrid, Inc. submitted multiple proposals to the Massachusetts-Connecticut-Rhode Island solicitation for offshore wind power including New England Wind, representing two projects – the 791-megawatt New England Wind 1 project and 1,080 megawatt New England Wind 2 project.

Under the contract, Meta will receive the majority portion of the solar energy generated by Ørsted’s Eleven Mile Solar Center, a 300 MW solar farm and 300 MW, four-hour battery energy storage system currently under construction in Pinal County, Arizona.

Once online in 2024, this will be the largest solar-plus-battery project on SRP’s power grid. The solar and stored energy not needed by the Meta data center will be available to SRP’s larger customer base. 

In addition to this newly announced project, Meta will also receive an allocation of 50 MW from the 100 MW West Line Solar Facility, which opened earlier this year in Eloy, AZ, and will soon receive a portion of solar energy from the 200-MW Brittlebush Solar Facility in Coolidge, AZ, which is expected to be online in 2024.

Eleven Mile Solar Center, located on over 2,000 acres, is expected to be operational in 2024. Ørsted is actively developing renewable energy projects in over 15 states, with a portfolio of 5.7 GW currently operating or under construction across the United States. 

The project’s storage capacity will contribute to the more than 1,100 MW of large-scale batteries that will be online on SRP’s system by the end of 2024.

This announcement follows SRP’s recent Integrated System Plan adoption, which will pursue battery investments, new solar additions, and more – backed by generation resources such as natural gas to ensure continued delivery of power.

SRP’s plan prepares to add 7,000 MW of new renewable resources, which includes 6,000 MW of new, large-scale solar resources by 2035. This is enough solar energy to power more than 1.3 million average size homes and will triple SRP’s current extensive portfolio of solar resources scheduled to come online by the end of 2025. 

A subsidiary of NextEra Energy has submitted transmission proposals to support the buildout of offshore wind projects in New York and New Jersey.

NextEra Energy Transmission submitted the New York Renewable Connect and New Jersey Seawind Connector proposals with PJM and NYISO regulators, respectively.

Regulators in New York and New Jersey are expected to select offshore wind transmission proposals in the second half of 2022. New York has a goal of developing 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035, while New Jersey hopes to bring 7.5 GW online over the same period.

"We believe no one in the industry can match our experience and unique skillset and we look forward to participating in this project," Eric Gleason, president of NextEra Energy Transmission, said in a statement.

Earlier this month, PSEG and Ørsted submitted several joint proposals for offshore wind transmission projects in New Jersey, named collectively Coastal Wind Link. The proposals were submitted into the PJM State Agreement Approach Proposal Window.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy will study transmission needs to support the country's burgeoning offshore wind market. The Biden administration wants to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The two-year study will be led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project has taken another step forward in its quest to, eventually, generate enough clean energy to power 660,000 homes.

Dominion Energy submitted construction plans for the 2.6-gigawatt project with the Virginia State Corporation Commission for approval. The step builds on recent announcements that Siemens Gamesa will build the U.S.'s first blade manufacturing facility at the Port of Virginia to support the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, as well as other projects along the east coast, and that Dominion Energy has invested in the first and only U.S. flagged offshore wind turbine installation vessel.

"In addition to solar, storage and nuclear, offshore wind is a key component of our strategy and a game-changer for the Hampton Roads economy," said Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy Chair, President and CEO. "CVOW is making Virginia the hub for this new industry.  Virginia will host the first offshore wind turbine blade factory in the United States and be the home port for the only Jones Act compliant offshore wind installation vessel."

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is currently operating as a two-turbine test pilot 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach and is expected to be completed in 2026. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is the largest offshore wind project in development in the U.S.

DEME Offshore US lands Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind installation contract

DEME Offshore US, meanwhile, announced Friday that the company has secured a $1.1 billion balance of plant contract from Dominion Energy for construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project in consortium with Prysmian. The total contract is valued at, at least, $1.9 billion.

The contract is the largest offshore wind installation contract ever awarded in the U.S., according to DEME. DEME will provide transportation and installation of 176 monopile transition piece foundations, three offshore substations, scour protection, and the supply and installation of export and inter-array submarine cable systems.

DEME Offshore will oversee the complete offshore installation works for the foundations, substations, infield cables, as well as part of the export cables. For the fulfillment of the project, DEME Offshore entered into a consortium with Prysmian, the world leader in underwater energy cable systems.

“DEME Offshore brings valuable industry knowledge and years of experience to our Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project,” said Joshua Bennett, Dominion Energy vice president of offshore wind. “We look forward to working with DEME Offshore to advance offshore wind off the coast of Virginia as we lead the Commonwealth’s clean-energy transition.”

The Biden administration set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, a goal industry experts will be difficult to achieve given supply chain challenges and the immaturity of the U.S. offshore wind market. Last year, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which sets a goal of producing at least 5,200 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2034. The law set a target of 2045 for the commonwealth to achieve 100% carbon-free energy production.

PSEG and Ørsted have submitted several joint proposals for offshore wind transmission projects in New Jersey, the companies announced.

The companies call the group of proposals "Costal Wind Link," which would support New Jersey's offshore wind goal of 3.5 GW by 2030 and 7.5 GW by 2035. The proposals were submitted into the PJM State Agreement Approach Proposal Window.

"The Coastal Wind Link proposals bring together the vast expertise and track record of Ørsted and PSEG – a track record that includes a commitment to leveraging diverse suppliers and supporting the communities where we do business," said Lathrop Craig, PSEG vice president of Wind Development.

In July, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities selected Ocean Wind 2, an offshore wind energy project proposed by Ørsted, for a 20-year Offshore Renewable Energy Credit (OREC) award at the $84.03 price from the State’s second competitive solicitation for offshore wind energy. The NJBPU also awarded Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind a contract to develop 1,510-MW of offshore wind energy capacity.

At 1,148 MW, the Ocean Wind 2 project will allow Ørsted to develop the remaining portion of its Ocean Wind federal lease area and could power at least half a million New Jersey homes, according to Ørsted. The offshore wind farm will be located adjacent to the company’s first offshore wind project, Ocean Wind 1, which was awarded by the NJBPU in 2019. Ocean Wind 1 is being developed in partnership with Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), which owns 25% equity in the project.

"New Jersey continues to be a leader in clean energy, both in the development of offshore wind and with forward-looking transmission solutions," said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America. "We support the state's ambitions of building a lasting offshore wind industry and clean energy resource for residents for many years to come. We're pleased to submit our Coastal Wind Link proposals, which offer a range of transmission and offshore expertise for policymakers to utilize in achieving this vision."

Moments after Siemens Gamesa announced that it would build a $200 million offshore wind blade finishing facility at the Port of Virginia, the first of its kind in the U.S., Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm playfully nudged the company to do even more to support a burgeoning domestic supply chain.

"We're talking about blades installed here, we want the manufacturing here, too. No pressure or anything," Granholm said. "This would be a great place for that!"

Granholm acknowledged that the U.S. offshore wind market is lagging its counterpart in Europe, where 25 GW of offshore wind capacity has been installed, compared to just 42 MW in the U.S. Much of the disparity can be attributed to the immaturity of the U.S. offshore wind supply chain.

The Biden administration has a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, a target IHSMarkit analysts say will be difficult to reach because of "a lack of manufacturing facilities, specialized U.S.-flagged installation and service vessels, dedicated ports plus poor power transmission infrastructure."

But the Siemens Gamesa announcement could be a turning point -- one that Steve Dayney, the company's head of offshore wind in North America, called an important first step to reach the 30 GW by 2030 goal.

The Siemens Gamesa blade finishing facility will be part of a larger offshore wind hub at the Port of Virginia, alongside partners Dominion Energy and Orsted. The hub will support the production of Dominion's 2.6 GW offshore wind project 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, which is currently operating as a two-turbine test pilot.

"We selected this site because of its near and longer-term potential, providing that we secure sufficient volume of projects to be able to produce components for those projects," Dayney said, calling Monday's announcement one of the highlights of his career.

Dominion Energy, meanwhile, is building the first Jones Act-qualified wind turbine installation vessel in the U.S. to support the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. The $500 million, 472-foot vessel is being constructed in Brownsville, Texas.

Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue highlighted the value of bringing together international offshore wind leaders Siemens Gamesa and Orsted together at the Port of Virginia site.

"This is a new industry in the United States but it's not new to the world. We've learned a lot from the pilot project that we'll be able to take advantage of on (the larger 2.6 GW project)," Blue told Renewable Energy World.

Clean energy tax credits for offshore wind deployment in President Biden's "Build Back Better" plan, and additional credits for domestic manufacturing, will further incentivize expansion of the U.S. supply chain. Congress is currently negotiating terms of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill and $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

The size of offshore wind turbines, meanwhile, requires a strong manufacturing footprint near the installation site to reduce project costs. Granholm said the Port of Virginia has a natural advantage to meet the demand for offshore wind manufacturing along the east coast of the U.S.

"The next step would be getting the full blade manufacturing here, and then the full tower manufacturing, and then the nacelle manufacturing," Granholm said. "If we get (the Build Back Better plan) passed, (companies) will choose to come here as opposed to building in Europe. When they choose to come here, they're going to come to a place where it makes sense logistically."

Once completed in 2026, Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will produce enough renewable energy to power up to 660,000 homes.

New York's Sunrise Wind project will be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. to be connected to the grid using a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.

Siemens Energy has been selected to connect New York's first utility-scale offshore wind project to the grid.

The 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind project, which is expected to reach commercial operation in 2024, will be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. to be connected to the grid using a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.

“To date, we have connected the offshore grid to the mainland 21 times, bringing more than 12 gigawatts of wind power to households in Europe. The fact that we are now able to proceed with our very first offshore HVDC grid connection project in the United States makes us proud,” said Tim Holt, member of the Executive Board at Siemens Energy. “Carbon-neutrality goals will not be met without wide-scale deployment of renewable energy projects like Sunrise Wind. There will be many more wind projects like this in the U.S. and we are happy to do our part to help provide the country with sustainable power.”

The HVDC system consists of two converter stations. Aker Solutions is responsible for the platform consisting of a steel jacket substructure, and a topside platform deck housing the electrical equipment.

Sunrise Wind is a joint venture between Ørsted and Eversource located 30 miles offshore Long Island. Once completed, the offshore wind farm will supply enough green energy to power nearly 600,000 homes. New York

The Biden administration set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. New York has a goal of generating 70% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.