New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced $206 million in awards to four Upstate large-scale clean energy projects that will help the State create a more diverse renewable energy portfolio to address energy and environmental challenges. The awardees include: two large wind farms, one in Western New York and the other in the North County; a large new hydroelectric project in the Mohawk Valley; and a small hydroelectric upgrade to an existing dam in the Hudson Valley.
All four projects will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the resiliency of New York’s energy infrastructure. "As New York continues to develop a world-class energy infrastructure, these new projects are reinforcing our commitment to providing clean energy to all New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "Through these and other innovative energy projects supported by the State, we are developing a more sustainable mechanism for delivering cleaner, more reliable and resilient energy and will keep us moving forward.”
Once operational, the four projects will add approximately 164 MW of new renewable capacity, which will provide about 450,000 megawatt-hours per year of clean renewable energy to New York – enough energy to supply more than 60,000 average-sized homes per year.
The four competitively-selected projects are as follows:
- Arkwright Summit Wind Farm, 78 MW, Arkwright, Chautauqua County
- Jericho Rise Wind Farm, 78 MW, Chateaugay, Franklin County
- City of Watervliet Delta Hydroelectric Project, 8 MW, Rome, Oneida County
- Village of Wappingers Falls Hydroelectric Project, 100 kilowatts, Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County
The funding for these projects is provided in response to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s 9
th Main Tier solicitation, a Request for Proposal issued earlier this year, and is being allocated through the State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, a policy that promotes the development of new renewable energy resources in New York State. The solicitation provides greater long-term certainty to contractors through contract terms of up to 20 years, double the length of previous contracts.
"These clean-energy projects will bring more renewable energy to the state's electric grid, helping to meet Governor Cuomo's vision of a power delivery system in New York State that incorporates a greater amount of renewable energy," said John B. Rhodes, president and CEO, NYSERDA. "These four new projects will provide the additional benefit of bringing economic opportunities to communities across the state."
The weighted average award price for the 9
th Main Tier solicitation is $22.96 per megawatt-hour of production over the 20 year terms of the awarded contracts. This is approximately one third less than the average contract price for the previous solicitation, which was $34.95 per megawatt-hour of production for 10 year terms.
In total, NYSERDA's nine Renewable Portfolio Standard Main Tier solicitations have funded
71 projects, generating more than 5 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually. NYSERDA will issue at least one more Main Tier solicitation under the Renewable Portfolio Standard in 2015.