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Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island have delayed the deadlines for their request for proposals for offshore wind from 31 January to 27 March. 

Project selection will now occur around two months later, by 7 August, with contracts finalised by 9 October, the states added. 

"Extending the schedule for our current solicitation creates additional time for developers to react to the possibility of further guidance from the (US Internal Revenue Service) regarding key tax credits available to offshore wind projects," a spokeswoman at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources told “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç.

"We know the importance of capturing all available savings for Massachusetts customers, and federal tax credits are essential to lowering the price of offshore wind for our ratepayers and improving project viability for offshore wind developers," she continued.

Firms that might bid in the three states’ offshore wind tenders include joint ventures that have exited power purchase agreements (PPAs), such as Avangrid, BP, EDP, Engie, Equinor, Ørsted and Shell. 

In October, auction regulators from the three states had signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate their selections of offshore wind projects.

Planned offshore wind projects have struggled in the US with inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and slow permitting. Because of this, some developers have exited PPAs with states, claiming they had become uneconomic.