RESTON, Va. — The nation’s largest offshore wind solicitation to date has raised the bar for responsible development. New York’s solicitation for up to 2,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy — enough to power 1.25 million homes — was required by an order made by the New York Public Service Commission in April.  

“New York State, under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, continues to raise the bar on climate action and clean energy — this week with unprecedented action to advance the largest solicitation for offshore wind power in the nation,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “With exemplary requirements for good paying jobs, wildlife protections, environmental justice, local port investment, domestic manufacturing, and research, Governor Cuomo has established a national model for the responsible development of this critical climate solution. The National Wildlife Federation and our partners are committed to supporting New York State and states along the Atlantic Coast to restart our national economy with clean energy solutions that support good jobs, healthy communities, and abundant wildlife.”

This landmark builds on New York’s strong initiative for implementing equitable solutions for solving the climate crisis under Governor Cuomo’s leadership. To date, New York is home of the largest offshore wind policy commitment. Now, with these provisions to protect communities and wildlife in the second solicitation, a new standard for responsible development has been set for New York and states across the North-Atlantic.

Some provisions to protect wildlife and communities in this solicitation include:

• Financial and technical support to regional monitoring of wildlife and key commercial fish stocks through a minimum contribution of $10,000 per megawatt;
• Measures to avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife during construction;
• Prevailing wage and Project Labor Agreement requirements;
• Minimum of $100 million in port investment.