New York offshore wind projects scrapped, along with promise of local jobs

GE Vernova was to build turbines at Port of Coeymans, but that is canceled for now

COEYMANS  — Just over a year ago, state and corporate executives were heralding what they said could be some 870 high-paying jobs at the Port of Coeymans that would involve assembling offshore wind turbine engines and blades built by GE Vernova and LM Wind Power.

But last week, those jobs vanished — at least for now — before they were ever created. That’s because two major offshore wind farms that were going to use the port as a fabrication area canceled their plans.

However, executives at the Port of Coeymans say they intend to continue expanding despite the cancellation of the Attentive and Community Offshore wind projects off the coast of Long Island.

The cancellations were just the latest of several similar reversals along the East Coast over the last year that illustrate the variables and cost challenges facing the push by both New York and the Biden administration to develop coastal wind as a major energy source.

Both the 1,314-megawatt Community Offshore project proposed by RWE, as well as the 1,404-megawatt Attentive project from Rise Power and Light and the French energy giant Total were canceled last week.

The news was listed on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s website, and was first reported by Politico.

“No final awards will be made … and NYSERDA will look to advance a future competitive solicitation,” the agency stated on its website.

The reason cited was GE Vernova’s pivot from a new 18-megawatt turbine to their existing 15.5-megawatt device.

Without the larger turbines, developers would have to build more wind towers, which would add to the cost.

The Port of Coeymans had initially been identified as the facility where GE Vernova was going to build some of their turbines and blades, as well as LM Wind Power blades.
 
But with the Attentive project also halted, at least in the near term the port won’t be hosting a turbine factory.

Port officials, though, stressed that work is proceeding for two other wind projects that are currently under construction off Long Island: Empire Wind from Equinor and Sunrise from Orsted, two Scandinavian companies that are major global developers of offshore wind farms.  

Both the Port of Coeymans and GE Vernova said they haven’t given up on the idea of building turbines and blades in Coeymans.

“The offshore wind industry still presents a tremendous opportunity for New York state,” Carver Companies Chief Operating Officer Nick Laraway said in a statement. The Carver Companies owns and operates the Port of Coeymans.

“The Port of Coeymans will continue supporting offshore wind projects Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind as announced by the state earlier this year,” Laraway added.

The port is handling some of the steel needed for the Sunrise project, and will supply aggregate stone for Empire Wind. The number of people working on the steel and aggregate supplies at the Port of Coeymans wasn’t immediately available.

GE Vernova also said it remains committed to the Port of Coeymans as a site for any future construction needs.

The wind developers said their cancellation followed a change in plans by GE Vernova: The power spinoff of General Electric Co. earlier this year said it was focusing on producing more “workhorse” 15.5-megawatt turbines rather than the newer and more complex 18-MW variant.

The company said there is plenty of demand for the 15.5-megawatt models as well as the 3- and 6-megawatt turbines it builds for land-based wind farms.

The Port of Coeymans isn’t the only spot along the Hudson River in the Capital Region to be buffeted by what has become a volatile offshore wind industry.

Three and a half years ago, local politicians and business boosters cheered news that the Port of Albany, about nine miles north of Coeymans, would host a turnkey factory for the construction of the massive steel towers that support the offshore turbines to be used in Equinor’s projects.

But a year later, port officials said the costs of building the factory had grown from early estimates of $350 million to $604 million. For now, the site is prepared and shovel-ready, but no construction has started due to a lack of funds.

Both Coeymans and Albany, though, remain prime spots for wind development, with lower costs than the New York City area and access to the Hudson River, where barges can haul items like towers and turbines to wind farm locations off the Atlantic Coast.

“The fundamentals of both Coeymans  and the Port of Albany are both compelling,” remarked Fred Zalcman, director of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance, a trade group of wind developers.

“Even if this didn’t pan out, I do believe there will be other opportunities down the road,” he said.

Steve Hughes contributed to this report.