One Metropolis, Two Offshore Wind Hubs, 9,000 Megawatts

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First it was Brooklyn. Now it’s Staten Island. Two totally different New York Metropolis boroughs are set to host new hubs for offshore wind farms, and each are claiming to be among the many largest within the US. The 2 new hubs are additional proof that that US offshore wind trade is already again on its toes, regardless of the interfering fingers of fossil power stakeholders and a sequence of different hindrances.

New Offshore Wind Hub For Staten Island

Beginning with the newest information first, the brand new Staten Island offshore wind hub is known as Arthur Kill Terminal. The challenge will sit on 32 acres on the west shore of Staten Island abutting the Arthur Kill, a waterway that separates the borough from New Jersey. Its deliberate 1-gigawatt capability will reportedly make it the most important privately-owned wind hub within the US.

The challenge comes below the umbrella of Atlantic Offshore Terminals, an infrastructure and industrial actual property growth startup that launched in 2018. AOT describes its core enterprise as focusing like a laser on the “quickly progressing US offshore wind trade.”

That’s an optimistic take, contemplating that the fast progress virtually evaporated simply final yr after a sequence of cancellations introduced a number of offshore tasks alongside the Atlantic coast to a screeching halt. Other than the fossil power pursuits at work, provide chain points, inflation, and different nuts-and-bolts elements had been in play. Nevertheless, that was then. New York is again on its toes with new offshore tasks, and neighboring New Jersey is among the many different states resetting their offshore agenda as properly.

Comply with The Cash

Momentary setback apart, anybody who pronounced the dying of the US offshore wind trade final yr was not following the cash path. In July of 2021, the choice asset supervisor Apollo World Administration introduced it nailed down an settlement for investing within the Arthur Kill Terminal. The A-list agency had about $461 billion of belongings below administration as of March 31, 2021.

“The Arthur Kill Terminal growth aligns with Apollo’s experience in renewable power infrastructure and with the Agency’s longstanding dedication to robust environmental, social and governance ideas,” Apollo acknowledged in a press launch dated July 15, 2021.

Apollo additionally cited New York State’s goal of 9,000 megawatts’ value of offshore wind, a part of a juicy East coast market that no investor would need to hand over simply.

Extra Cash For Staten Island

Within the meantime, New York State’s financial growth company, Empire State Improvement, was including its muscle to the wind hub effort. In 2022 the company introduced that it gained a $48 million grant from the federal Division of Transportation in help of the challenge.

The Arthur Kill Terminal “represents an unparalleled alternative to fulfill the pressing want for appropriate offshore wind ports on the East Coast and will probably be an vital asset for offshore wind as the one non-bridge restricted offshore wind staging and meeting port in New York State,” ESD acknowledged, referring to the issue of transporting huge wind turbine parts below bridges that weren’t designed for such work.

What’s Up With Floating Offshore Wind Generators?

ESD additionally emphasised that Arthur Kill Terminal will accommodate next-generation offshore wind applied sciences, together with floating offshore wind generators and foundations.

The floating turbine angle is attention-grabbing as a result of offshore wind websites in New York State and virtually all the East Coast are appropriate for standard fixed-platform development. The water is shallow sufficient to park wind generators on monopiles pounded into the ocean mattress, so there isn’t any want for the extra delicate engineering feat of situating generators on a floating platform.

Both AOT is already positioning itself within the provide chain for offshore wind websites in Maine that require floating wind expertise, or the federal Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration is open to the concept of leasing offshore wind websites in deeper waters. Or…it might imply one thing else totally.

Particulars on the challenge are a bit skinny in the intervening time. Apollo has not issued any new releases for the reason that 2021 announcement, ESD has additionally been mum since 2022, and the challenge web site for the Arthur Kill Terminal was nonetheless within the bare-bones stage as of this writing. For those who can observe anything down, drop us a notice within the remark thread.

In 2022, although, US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York did let phrase drop that the brand new wind hub would come with a “1365-foot-long wharf with adjoining laydown space that has enhanced load bearing capability.”

One other aspect consists of “a tenant space consisting of a 15,266 square-foot mixed warehouse and workplace constructing and a challenge proprietor’s space consisting of a 4,200 square-foot workplace constructing.”

An Offshore Wind Hub For Brooklyn

Earlier this week, AOT posted a short announcement on LinkedIn indicating that the challenge is shifting via the pipeline, the newest milestone being approval from the New York Metropolis Planning Fee for “land use actions wanted to facilitate the development and operation of Arthur Kill Terminal.”

In the meantime over in Brooklyn, the beginning of development on the brand new South Brooklyn Marine Terminal was marked with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 10.

The challenge already has a consumer within the type of the 54-turbine, 810-gigawatt Empire I offshore wind farm, which comes below the umbrella of the agency Equinor.

After that, consideration will flip to different alternatives. “When accomplished, the power will probably be one of many largest devoted offshore wind hubs in the US, designed to accommodate future offshore wind tasks,” Equinor defined in a press assertion.

That almost certainly contains Empire Wind II, which can weigh in at 1,260 megawatts.

To ice the inexperienced cake, the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal is deliberate as a “low-emissions facility,” with an help from solar energy. EV charging stations are additionally a part of the package deal.

Comply with The Offshore Wind Cash, Half II

The short revival of offshore wind plans for the Atlantic coast is a poke within the eye of fossil power stakeholders, a few of which have reportedly lent a hand to native teams against offshore wind.

Within the early 2000s, it was potential for the opposition to squash offshore tasks. Nevertheless, renewable power stakeholders have grown extra monetary muscle since then, and they don’t seem to be afraid to throw their weight round.

Equinor, for instance, describes itself as “a broad worldwide power firm and one of many largest offshore wind builders on the earth.” Along with the two gigawatts’ value of offshore wind represented by the Empire tasks, Equinor has one other 2.1 gigawatts deliberate for elsewhere within the US.

“America is a horny progress marketplace for Equinor,” the corporate provides, noting that its general renewable power plan anticipates a complete capability of 12-16 gigawatts globally, by 2030.

That’s simply Equinor. One other wind trade stakeholder to keep watch over is Ørsted, which is relying on 5 gigawatts of offshore wind alongside the US East coast. For those who can title any others, drop us a notice within the remark thread.

Comply with me @tinamcasey on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Picture (cropped): Staten Island will host a brand new offshore wind hub, certainly one of two key wind trade tasks within the pipeline for New York Metropolis (courtesy of Atlantic Offshore Terminals).