New York Points The Finger At The Feds For Scuttled Offsh…

The waters offshore New York State will remain calm- or at least free from new wind power generation construction- for now.

Last Friday, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) pulled the plug on its fifth offshore wind solicitation (ORECRFP24-1) without greenlighting any of the proposed projects. In a brief blurb published on its website, NYSERDA pulls no punches about who is to blame, fingering the federal government for disrupting the state’s quest to add gigawatts of clean energy to its resource mix.

“On February 13, 2026, NYSERDA concluded ORECRFP24-1 without award due to federal actions disrupting the offshore wind market and instilling significant uncertainty into offshore wind project development. That week, NYSERDA launched a Request for Information to gather information from the industry to help address these challenges in a thoughtful and timely manner,” the update reads.

The Trump administration, which has vowed ‘no new windmills’ would be built off American shores during its namesake’s time in office, has been taking a beating in the courts in recent weeks after suspending activities on five projects along the East Coast. In late January, a federal judge determined that the nearly-complete Vineyard Wind project near Massachusetts can continue. Prior to Vineyard Wind’s hearing, federal judges ruled to restart construction on the Rhode Island and Connecticut Revolution Wind project, spearheaded by Danish company Ørsted, the Empire Wind offshore New York, created by Norwegian Equinor, and Virginia’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the brainchild of Dominion Energy Virginia. Those three judges essentially concluded that the government did not show that the national security risk is so imminent that construction must halt.

Feedback from NYSERDA’s latest Request for Information will help New York State consider the value, benefits, and risks of supporting predevelopment activities, NYSERDA asserts. It could also inform the potential structure and timing of a pre-development Request for Proposals (RFP) and how that RFP should be designed to achieve the best outcome for New York State, which is exploring whether new or modified approaches to offshore wind procurement could help support a steady and sustainable pipeline of new projects capable of advancing toward future offtake and construction.

“One potential concept under consideration is State provision of funding or other support of predevelopment activities of offshore wind projects,” NYSERDA suggests. “Such an approach could potentially help projects advance in a timelier manner and reduce risks at the time of future offtake, both of which ultimately contribute to lower costs for ratepayers.”

Responses to the RFI are due on March 10, 2026, by 3:00 p.m. ET.

The Projects That Weren’t

New York’s fifth competitive offshore wind solicitation, launched on July 17, 2024, attracted more than two dozen proposals from four developers, resulting in four applications. Three of those projects have been rebid with NYSERDA multiple times:

Attentive Energy One: A 1,404 MW project developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power, and Corio Generation intended to benefit historically marginalized communities by retiring 1960’s fossil generation in New York City and reusing its physical and electrical infrastructure to cost-effectively deliver offshore wind power. Attentive Energy One was supposed to advance a community-driven initiative to repurpose the Ravenswood Generating Station into a clean energy hub.

Community Offshore Wind: An up-to 2.8 GW venture developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures located 64 miles offshore that was supposed to deliver $3.3B in economic benefits and power more than 500,000 homes. It is the largest proposal NYSERDA has received to date. The project would be constructed in two phases in the previously determined federal offshore wind lease area in the New York Bight and utilize two interconnection points- one at the ConEd Clean Energy Hub in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood and another on Long Island at the E.F. Barrett Power Station in Island Park. RWE and National Grid were targeting 2030 for first power and full operation by 2032.

Excelsior Wind: A 1.35 GW Vineyard Offshore undertaking 24 miles off Long Island, intended to generate enough power for 700,000 homes. The project could’ve avoided 1.1 million tons of carbon pollution annually, equivalent to taking nearly 225,000 cars off the road.

The fourth final proposal, Ørsted’s 1.485 GW Long Island Wind project, would power up to one million homes, attract billions of dollars of in-state investment, and strengthen the Danish developer’s growing Northeast hub. Ørsted had targeted 2033 for commercial operation if Long Island Wind was given the go-ahead.

Attentive Energy withdrew its proposals in October of 2024. In August 2025, Ørsted withdrew its proposals.

Ørsted operates South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm and America’s first utility-scale offshore wind project. In late March of 2024, the feds greenlit the country’s seventh such project, Ørsted (and formerly Eversource’s) 924 MW Sunrise Wind, currently under construction and slated to become New York’s second offshore wind farm when it is finished. The project is still issuing weekly construction updates.

Solicitation Specifics, and What’s Next

New York State has been pursuing its goal of developing 9 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035 to support its plan to achieve 70% renewable electricity statewide by 2030.

In its doomed fifth solicitation, NYSERDA included key provisions in its requirements, including inflation indexing, Disadvantaged Community commitments, and related priorities, to “maintain the policy objectives introduced in prior solicitations and ensure an equitable energy transition for all New Yorkers.”

The RFP sought to support the responsible and cost-effective development of offshore wind by requiring proposers to:

• Implement lighting controls to minimize nighttime visibility
• Include commitments to negotiate project labor agreements and labor peace agreements
• Submit environmental and fisheries mitigation plans describing development practices that will minimize impacts to fisheries and the environment
• Submit stakeholder engagement and workforce development plans to ensure alignment with the just transition priorities of New York’s Climate Act
• Participate in New York State’s offshore wind technical working groups: Environmental, Commercial Fishing, Jobs and Supply Chain, Maritime, and Environmental Justice
• Consult with relevant State agencies around fishing, wildlife, and the environment
• Make environmental data collected during site assessment publicly available

Will offshore wind find a way? It seems pretty clear there won’t be significant progress until federal priorities change, but projects continue to push along- and demand does wonders (and so do the courts).