Three New York offshore wind projects were canceled Friday in the latest sign of trouble for the stumbling industry and President Joe Biden’s green energy agenda, according to Politico.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the agency that handles offshore wind contracts, disclosed Friday that it could not finalize power purchase agreements with three developers that received conditional awards from the state in October 2023, according to Politico. The announcement amounts to a cancellation of the projects, which deals a blow to New York’s goal to reach 70% green energy generation by 2030 and Biden’s goal to install enough offshore wind capacity nationwide to provide enough electricity to power 10 million U.S. homes by 2030.
New York announced awards for the three projects canceled Friday after the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) shot down a push by other developers to charge more for the power their projects would produce to offset rising costs, according to Politico. Several other projects were canceled following the PSC’s rejection, with similar dynamics playing out in other blue states like New Jersey and Maryland in recent months as well.
“Despite notable progress, the U.S. offshore wind industry is still in its infancy. As [with] any new sector, challenges are expected & require resolve from [federal], state & private sector to overcome,” Doreen Harris, NYSERDA’s president and CEO, wrote in a Friday post to X. “[NYSERDA] will take proactive measures to address these issues head-on. Next steps soon.”
The offshore wind industry is stumbling despite the availability of generous tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Biden’s signature climate bill. Inflation, higher borrowing costs and logistical problems are gumming up projects and contracts that appeared lucrative and viable around the time that Biden signed the IRA into law.
Biden’s 2030 target continues to fall further out of reach with Friday’s cancellation, as Reuters reported in November 2023 that the goal already appeared to be unattainable given headwinds in the industry.
The White House, the office of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYSERDA did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
