Dive Brief:
- New York announced its second large-scale renewables solicitation on Wednesday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) estimated that it could drive up to $1.5 billion in green energy investments.
- The bids are expected to support the generation of 1.5 million MWh annually — roughly the annual energy consumption of 200,000 homes — contributing to the state's goal of reaching 50% renewable energy by 2030.
- New York announced the results of its first solicitation last month, committing $1.4 billion in funding for 26 renewable energy projects. Officials said it was the largest commitment to renewable energy made by a state.
Dive Insight:
New York is is striving to become a clean energy leader and is in the midst of a series of major procurements it "expects to result in the development of dozens of large scale renewable energy projects by 2022 under the Clean Energy Standard."
The newest request for proposal includes new provisions, including one aimed at ensuring the creation of more than 1,000 well-paying clean energy jobs. The two RFPs have aimed to support the state' Clean Climate Careers initiative, launched last summer with the goal of creating 40,000 in-state jobs by 2020.
In the latest RFP, renewable energy projects that avoid overlap with vital lands will be provided bonus points, in order to preserve agricultural resources. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will give more details on the RFP in a May 2 webinar. Other provisions focus on encouraging cost-effective proposals that would pair renewable energy with advanced energy storage technologies.
New York has set an energy storage target of 1,500 MW by 2025. One wind farm selected in last month's funding announcement includes an energy storage component, which Cuomo's office said makes it the first large-scale renewable energy project of its kind in New York State
The projects tapped last month include 22 utility-scale solar farms, three wind farms and a single hydroelectric project. The largest project will be Invenergy's 340 MW wind farm in Western New York. Cuomo's office expects the state's investment to spur more than $3 billion of additional direct investment over the life of these projects, which will add almost 1,400 MW of renewable energy.
