The New York Power Authority and LS Power have submitted joint proposals to the New York Independent System Operator in response to an April 4 Public Policy Transmission Need solicitation to deliver offshore wind generation into New York City.
The joint proposals, collectively named Five Boro Energy Connect, will inject energy from offshore wind facilities into the statewide energy grid.
The proposals focus on upgrading and modernizing transmission infrastructure to deliver 4,770 megawatts to up to 8,000 MW of offshore wind resources to the state’s power grid.
“The Power Authority has a proven track record of success in developing large transmission projects to help reduce reliance on fossil fuels by creating new pathways for the flow of clean energy,” said NYPA President and CEO Justin Driscoll. “The innovative Five Boro Energy Connect transmission proposals developed in collaboration with LS Power are designed to ensure energy resiliency, reduce emissions, and create clean energy jobs while also engaging New Yorkers in the clean energy transition.”
Five Boro Energy Connect will deliver statewide benefits, including facilitating the delivery of more power and redundancy to the state’s transmission infrastructure network to meet New York’s growing electricity needs and ensuring uninterrupted delivery of clean energy to high demand areas, as well as mitigating impacts on consumers through reduced transmission congestion and lower production costs, NYPA and LS Power said.
NYPA and LS Power submitted proposals branded as Five Boro Energy Connect to NYISO on June 17 for evaluation in response to NYISO’s solicitation calling for transmission proposals that will upgrade existing transmission facilities in New York City.
The Five Boro Energy Connect team submitted solutions developed to meet the requirements set forth by the New York Public Service Commission and the NYISO tariff, including the need to deliver renewable offshore wind to New York City by January 1, 2033.
The next step is a viability and sufficiency analysis that is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024 and then a NYISO board decision that is expected in the second quarter of 2025.
The two organizations have a history of working together to design and successfully deliver transmission solutions, and in December 2023, completed the Central East Energy Connect transmission project, a complex rebuild of 93 miles of overhead transmission lines and substations in Oneida, Herkimer, Montgomery and Albany counties.
Over the last five years, NYPA and LS Power have invested a combined $2.1 billion to bolster New York’s transmission system.
NYPA has recently developed other major transmission projects in New York with co-developers, including Smart Path Connect, CleanPath NY and Propel NY Energy.
NYISO issued its solicitation in response to a PSC order issued on June 22, 2023, recognizing the need for transmission solutions to help deliver generation from offshore wind into New York City to help meet the clean energy goals outlined in the Climate Act, which calls for 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035.
