New offshore wind joint venture partnership
With huge growth potential for the sector, National Grid Ventures is stepping up its offshore wind activity in the U.S., via a significant new partnership with RWE Renewables.
Offshore wind is going to be a major growth area in the U.S. and one that the Biden administration has pledged to support, with a target of 30 GW capacity by 2030 – enough to power 10 million homes with clean energy. The plan is to expand this far further by 2050, to 110 GW of deployed offshore wind.
One of the tangible first steps identified toward achieving these targets is developing an area offshore from one of our existing service territories, the New York Bight. This stretch of shallow waters between Long Island and the New Jersey Coast has been announced by the Biden Administration as including new priority ‘Wind Energy Areas’.
Partnering for New York Bight and beyond
The New York Bight – and offshore wind in the U.S. more broadly – presents a big opportunity and one that we want to be part of. To help ‘make it happen’, we’ve now signed a significant partnership agreement with leading renewables specialist RWE. Under this, National Grid Ventures and RWE will be working together to explore opportunities in the Northeast U.S. offshore wind market, including an intention to jointly bid in the upcoming New York Bight seabed lease auction.
The agreement brings together the two firms’ complementary capabilities. There’s our local expertise in the Northeast, along with experience of developing large-scale infrastructure projects; including from our sub-sea interconnectors that transfer renewable energy between the UK and Europe. RWE, meanwhile, has two decades’ experience in developing global offshore wind projects, from conception through to construction and operation, encompassing over 20 successful projects. It’s fair to say that the company holds a firm place in the top tier of global offshore wind operators.
Patiently planned
The partnership is the culmination of several years of planning, thought and consideration, all done in the context of the developing offshore wind opportunity.
This is a great story of forward thinking and disciplined action to launch a new part of the U.S. renewables business.
Will Hazelip, National Grid Ventures’ Vice President of Strategic Development and Partnerships, says: “This is a great story of forward thinking and disciplined action to launch a new part of the U.S. renewable energy business. It was done in a very methodical way and as the industry is really starting to heat up.”
Both National Grid and RWE share a common goal of enabling the clean energy future and offshore wind will be critical for the U.S., particularly in the Northeast, to reduce emissions, meet climate goals and create local jobs.
The partnership is something that Cordi O’Hara, President of National Grid Ventures, views as important to National Grid Ventures’ future: “We’re delighted to be working together with RWE to help advance a clean, fair and affordable energy future. The offshore opportunity complements our growing onshore renewables business with National Grid Renewables, which has a strong pipeline of solar, wind and battery storage projects across the country.”
