RWE Renewables and National Grid enter partnership to jointly bid for New York Bight offshore lease auction

RWE Renewables, one of the globally leading companies in offshore wind, and National Grid, one of the world’s largest publicly listed utilities, today announced the signing of a partnership agreement to jointly develop offshore wind projects in the coastal region of the Northeast U.S..

Under this agreement, RWE and National Grid Ventures, the non-regulated division of National Grid, will be working together to explore opportunities in the U.S. offshore wind market. This includes an intention to jointly bid in the upcoming New York Bight seabed lease auction.

RWE and National Grid share a common goal of enabling the clean energy future, and offshore wind will be critical for the U.S., particularly in the Northeast, to reduce carbon emissions and meet climate goals, such as New York state’s target of bringing 9,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind online by 2035.

“Our partnership with National Grid represents an exciting milestone for RWE to further grow our renewable energy business in the U.S.,” said Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Operating Officer Offshore Wind Global of RWE Renewables. “While we are an established presence in the U.S. with our onshore wind, solar and storage activities, this partnership will support RWE’s plans to realize a sizeable position in the offshore wind space. We look forward to working with National Grid to advance the clean energy transition in the U.S.”

“We’re very pleased to partner with RWE as we take our first steps towards developing offshore wind projects in the Northeast U.S.,” said Cordi O’Hara, incoming President of National Grid Ventures. “This partnership further solidifies National Grid’s role in advancing a clean, fair and affordable energy future and will also complement our growing onshore renewables business, which includes a strong pipeline of solar, wind and battery storage projects across the country.”

National Grid and RWE will bring complementary capabilities and expertise to this partnership:

RWE is one of the world’s leading companies in offshore wind, active across the entire value chain, from project conception and development to construction as well as operation and maintenance. The unparalleled expertise the company has earned over the last 20 years has resulted in about 20 successful projects.  Currently, the company is constructing the 857- megawatt offshore wind farm Triton Knoll off the English Coast and the 342-megawatt project Kaskasi off the German island Heligoland. Furthermore, RWE has taken the investment decision for its 1,4 gigawatt project Sofia, one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world.

National Grid will bring local expertise in the Northeast along with its experience developing large-scale infrastructure projects, including industry-leading subsea cable capabilities from its portfolio of interconnectors that facilitate the transfer of renewable energy between the UK and Europe.