UPDATE 2 - Statoil wins NY offshore wind lease after 33 rounds

Statoil Wind US LLC is the provisional winner in the auction for a wind lease offshore New York with a record-smashing bid of USD 42.47 million (EUR 40.7m) in the 33rd round.

Avangrid Renewables LLC, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and subsidiaries of Dong Energy (CPH:DENERG), Innogy (ETR:IGY) and Wpd AG also participated in the heated race for an area of 79,350 acres (32,110 ha) for wind development.

The Statoil (STO:STLO) subsidiary will have to wait for the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to carry out an anti-competitiveness review of the auction. The provisional winner then needs to pay the amount it bid and provide financial assurance to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

Norwegian energy major Statoil already has stakes in several European offshore wind parks and projects. It recently also expressed interest in developing offshore wind projects in Hawaii waters. In a statement on Friday, the firm said the New York offshore lease area could potentially accommodate over 1 GW of offshore wind, with a phased development expected to start with between 400 MW and 600 MW.

Statoil will now study the seabed conditions, grid connection options and wind resources. It will work with NYSERDA on the studies, the permitting process and off-take talks.

“Statoil is well positioned to take part in what could be a significant build out of offshore wind in New York and other states over the next decade. This effort is in line with the company’s strategy to gradually complement our oil and gas portfolio with viable renewable energy and other low-carbon solutions,” said Irene Rummelhoff, Statoi’s executive vice president for New Energy Solutions.

The winner in yesterday’s auction will have a preliminary lease term of 12 months to submit a site assessment plan (SAP), describing the proposed installations for measuring wind, ocean and meteorological conditions. After the SAP is approved, the lessee will have up to four and a half years to submit a construction and operations plan (COP). Once this is done, BOEM will conduct a project-specific environmental review.

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