TotalEnergies Awarded a 25-year Contract to Supply 1.4 GW of renewable electricity to New York. Credit: TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies and its partners, Corio Generation (Corio) and Rise Light & Power (Rise) announced Wednesday that New York State selected their Attentive Energy One project for a 25-year contract to supply 1.4 GW of renewable electricity.

Attentive Energy One, a joint venture between TotalEnergies (40%), Rise (35%) and Corio (25%), received the provisional award in the State’s 2023 competitive OREC (Offshore Renewable Energy Credits) solicitation, organized by New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA). The Consortium aims to commission this project in 2029.

NYSERDA has put a particular emphasis on the local content of the proposal: the Attentive Energy One project will enable the construction of a new General Electric facility to manufacture offshore wind blades and nacelles and unlock $300 million in investments in various community-focused projects across New York State. It will in addition turn the Ravenswood gas-fueled power plant owned by Rise, into a clean energy hub at the heart of New York City.

The profitability of this project is ensured by the guaranteed level of OREC revenue, the benefit of a 40% IRA tax credit, the secured access to New York electricity grid brought by Rise and the local supply of turbines by General Electric at a competitive set price. Moreover, the contract awarded by NYSERDA will include an inflation adjustment mechanism to compensate for changes in construction costs until the final investment decision.

“We are honored that the State of New York chose Attentive Energy One to deliver on the promise of bringing green electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. Together with our partners Corio and Rise, we will mobilize all our expertise to develop a major offshore wind project that will contribute to New York State’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets,” said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President Renewables at TotalEnergies. “Thanks to this project’s secured offtake price and competitive advantages such as the 40% IRA tax credit and its very competitive interconnection, Attentive Energy One project will contribute positively to our Integrated Power profitability target of 12% and to our ambition of more than 100 TWh of power generation by 2030.”

TotalEnergies had secured, in February 2022, 100% of maritime lease OCS-A 0538 at the New York Bight auction. It then partnered with New York-based electricity producer Rise and global offshore wind developer Corio to join forces in the development of the Attentive Energy offshore wind projects.

The lease’s 3 GW capacity will serve two projects: Attentive Energy One, which is dedicated to deliver New York State, and Attentive Energy Two, which is dedicated to supply New Jersey. Together, these two projects aim to provide green electricity to more than a million homes across both states.

By Eurasia Review

French energy major TotalEnergies said Monday it had partnered with Corio Generation (Corio), an offshore wind developer, and Rise Light & Power (Rise), a New York-based electricity producer, for the joint development of the Attentive Energy offshore wind project off the coast of New York and New Jersey.

Corio and Rise took respective stakes of 27.7% and 16.3% in the Attentive Energy project. Rise will also contribute its assets and interconnection capabilities in New York City to the project. In exchange, TotalEnergies, which retains the remaining 56%, received a total cash consideration of $420 million. TotalEnergies had secured, in February 2022, 100% of maritime lease OCS-A 0538 at the New York Bight auction.

The Attentive Energy project aims to develop more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind located 54 miles from New York State and 42 miles from New Jersey shores. Once built, the project will provide green electricity for more than a million homes across the two states.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rise will manage the project’s interconnection at its Ravenswood Generating Station and begin the retirement of its gas generators. 

“This iconic site, a pillar of New York City’s energy system, will be transformed into a green energy hub where Attentive Energy will base its operations and maintenance activities,” TotalEnergies siad.

Corio will bring its experience as a global offshore wind developer, with over 30 GW under development in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

“TotalEnergies is delighted to partner with Corio and Rise to profitably develop a major offshore wind project that will provide greener electricity to the residents of New York and New Jersey”, said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President Renewables at TotalEnergies. “This partnership reinforces TotalEnergies’ capacity to actively develop its presence in the U.S. renewables space where the company has a 25 GW portfolio of projects, in operation or development, including 4 GW in offshore wind. We are also happy to contribute, through the Attentive Energy project, to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in New York and New Jersey, and support the U.S. government’s goal to develop 30 GW of offshore wind in the country by 2030.”

Offshore Engineer Magazine

Activists Want Ravenswood Stacks Replaced with a Clean Power Hub

A group of about 200 people, including many children, rallied on Monday in support of Rise Light & Power’s plan to convert the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City, which produces about a fifth of the city’s electricity, into a clean energy hub focused on wind power. Burning fossil fuels at the plant leads to higher asthma rates among area children, speakers said. PHOTO BY STEPHANIE G. MEDITZ

Rise Light & Power’s plan to transition the Ravenswood Generating Station into a renewable energy hub was met with support from residents in the surrounding areas on Monday.

Established in 1963, Ravenswood provides 2,500 megawatts of energy to New York City by burning fossil fuels, which causes poor air quality in neighboring communities and nearby New York City Housing Authority developments including the Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing development in the nation. The Long Island City plant produces about one-fifth of NYC’s electric power.

Rise Light & Power’s “Renewable Ravenswood” plan will repurpose existing infrastructure to connect offshore wind, upstate wind and solar power to New York City’s electric grid and advance the state’s goal of 70 percent renewable energy by 2030. It includes a large-scale battery storage facility on site to ensure reliable energy in the absence of wind and sun.

Rise Light & Power also pledged to work with local nonprofits to prepare community members for career opportunities in renewable energy.

Former Astoria Houses Resident Association President Claudia Coger raised seven children before the Ravenswood smokestacks were built, and they never had respiratory problems. However, her granddaughter and two great-grandchildren suffer from asthma.

“That really hit me to be involved, because I know that this made a difference,” she told the Chronicle, motioning to the stacks.

She told a crowd of 200 that children in the area known colloquially as “Asthma Alley” miss at least 30 days of school due to poor air quality.

Former City Councilmember Costa Constantinides said asthma rates, emergency room visits and hospitalizations for asthma west of 21st Street are higher than the borough average.

“The core principles of environmental justice theory show us how time and time again, Black and brown, lower income and public housing communities are left to suffer the harsh effects of pollution,” Bishop Mitchell Taylor said.

Asked how NYC would receive one-fifth of its electricity during Ravenswood’s transition to renewable energy, Mentors On The Move 4 Life CEO Tyrone Freedom Gardner said there is “no real healthy replacement.”

“I don’t see anything else where the result of it can help us with what we’re trying to push for,” he said.

“The whole plan is where they’re positioning these wind things along the water, and the water and earth, they create all of the energy and stuff that’s going on in the air,” he added. “That would be a perfect place to get the source from — the water. And also solar’s going to be involved with it.”

Coger also did not know how NYC would receive power in the interim, but she emphasized that the community intends to be involved in the process.

“I do know that once they take these stacks down, there’s a transition that would take place,” she said. “That’s the number one thing we have to do right now is to take the stacks down. But also, we want to make sure, this is why we are here today, that we are keyed into … the proposal that’s on the governor’s desk now.”

With many young students in attendance, several speakers emphasized that the transition to clean energy benefits future generations.

“By taking down the Ravenswood generating plants and transitioning to cleaner energy sources like wind energy, we can significantly reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality in our communities,” Take Down the Stacks organizer Stephen Michael said. “This not only benefits our health but also contributes to a more sustainable future for generations to come … protecting our generations to come is what is necessary if we want to make a real impact.”

The plan requires local, state and federal approval to come to fruition. Attendees signed petitions for Hochul’s approval and texted their NYS representatives.

By Stephanie G. Meditz

Labor union members at New York’s Ravenswood Generating Station will become the US’s first fossil fuel power plant workers to transition to operating offshore wind equipment.

Ravenswood is a 2,480-megawatt (MW) power plant in Long Island City, Queens, across from Roosevelt Island.

Powering 20% of the city, it’s New York City’s largest fossil-fuel plant, and its fossil fuel generation is going to be replaced with 1,400 MW of offshore wind power.

The 27-acre waterfront oil and gas industrial site will be converted into a clean energy hub that will power one-fifth of New York City – and it needs a skilled workforce to run it.

So its owners, Attentive Energy One (AE1), a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Rise Light & Power, recently made an agreement with Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 (UWUA Local 1-2) to retain, retrain, and upskill Ravenswood’s plant workers.

Upon award of a contract, AE1 will launch a training program with UWUA Local 1-2 that will ensure workers can smoothly transition to work on new renewable energy equipment and an operations & maintenance hub that will support up to 3 GW of offshore wind.

The Ravenswood Training Center, a National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER)-accredited training sponsor and assessment center, will retrain the power plant’s union members with a new renewable energy and maritime operations curriculum.

James Shillitto, president of UWUA Local 1-2, said in an interview:

We’re very confident that working with Rise, Total and Attentive that we’re going to come out the right way.

None of us are climate deniers and we know that things have to change.

And Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. said:

[T]his agreement between Attentive Energy One and Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 not only ensures the Ravenswood Generating Station transitions into a hub of renewable energy, but also becomes a model of how to empower the existing workforce amidst that transition.

New York has mandated that 70% of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030, and the state has set a target to develop 9 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035.

By Michelle Lewis

The future of the Ravenswood Generating Station will be discussed at a community forum across Vernon Boulevard at the Queensbridge Houses on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Michael Dorgan)

Western Queens residents can have their say on the future of “Big Allis” during a community forum at the Queensbridge Houses Wednesday afternoon.

Rise Light & Power and Attentive Energy One are hosting the June 28 town hall to discuss what lies ahead for the massive Ravenswood Generating Station, which provides electricity for 1 in 5 homes in New York City.

As Ravenswood plans to complete a transition to using fully renewable energy while creating and maintaining jobs, community leaders and local NYCHA residents — who have long lived in the shadows of the largest fossil fuel plant in the city — can share their thoughts and opinions on the future of Ravenswood and their community, while learning about near-term steps in the transition with the Attentive Energy One offshore wind proposed project.

“The vision for Renewable Ravenswood was born out of community input and this forum will allow us to continue to engage the community as we refine our plans and move forward,” Rise Light & Power CEO Clint Plummer said. “Transforming Ravenswood is a partnership with the community and we are very excited about the progress we are making together.”

The community forum will be held at the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement in Queensbridge, located at 10-25 41st St. in Long Island City. The town hall begins at 5 p.m.

By Bill Parry