Anbaric: Helping to scale clean energy

Offshore wind development in the U.S. has lagged behind northern Europe, where the first offshore wind farm began operating in 1991. But that’s changing rapidly. The U.S. government recently set a goal of deploying at least 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power this decade. Meanwhile, three states in the northeast—New York, New Jersey and Massaschusetts—have pledged to procure more than 45 GW of offshore wind power by 2040. Planned wind-generation projects will ultimately need to be connected to New York City, Boston and other urban areas.

That’s where Anbaric comes in. The company designs and develops shared, open-access transmission systems to scale clean energy. While the U.S. industry has so far largely followed a project-specific, incremental approach to bringing wind energy onshore, Anbaric advocates a planned approach, where the transmission system is developed separately from generation. A planned approach brings down both the costs and risks of connecting multiple offshore wind projects, by optimizing points of interconnection and reducing the potential redundancy that could result from connecting multiple projects. Anbaric sees engaging with the public and seeking stakeholder input as critical not only to its success but to that of the U.S. offshore wind industry.

A study commissioned by Anbaric found that a planned approach to connecting offshore wind projects in New York State alone would reduce total transmission costs by at least US$500 million, while reducing the impact on coastal communities and those who make their living from the ocean. Critically, by reducing the amount of cabling deployed, the planned approach would result in less disruption to marine life. 

“OTPP brings three key value propositions as an investor. It understands the dynamics in the electricity market. It also has a broad grasp of the political, economic, and environmental pressures shaping the transition to the low carbon economy. Finally, OTPP’s global perspective compels developers to address risks that may not have arisen on their home turf. For these reasons, OTPP is a valued investment partner for Anbaric as we work to bring renewable energy to markets.”

Clarke Bruno, CEO, 
Anbaric