March 27 (Reuters) - Several offshore wind developers

bid in a combined Connecticut-Massachusetts-Rhode Island

offshore wind solicitation on Wednesday, including units of

European energy firms Iberdrola and Orsted.

The U.S. offshore wind industry is booming so far this year,

with several projects in various stages of development and

construction, after a disastrous 2023 of developers cancelling

contracts and taking roughly $9.1 billion in write-offs and

impairments on U.S. projects.

So far, Avangrid ( AGR ), Orsted and Vineyard Offshore have

made proposals in the tri-state auction, which is expected to

play a critical role in federal and state plans to decarbonize

the power grid and combat climate change.

Avangrid ( AGR ), a member of the Iberdrola Group, submitted

multiple proposals, including the 791-megawatt (MW) New England

Wind 1 and the 1,080-MW New England Wind 2. If combined, the two

projects could generate enough power to supply nearly 1 million

homes.

"Avangrid ( AGR ) is ready to go," Avangrid ( AGR ) CEO Pedro Azagra said in

a press release, adding that construction could start on New

England Wind 1 as early as next year.

The company said New England Wind 1 could achieve commercial

operations in 2029.

In a separate bid, Orsted, the world's biggest offshore wind

company, proposed the 1,184-megawatt Starboard Wind project,

which could supply power to Connecticut and/or Rhode Island.

Vineyard Offshore said it proposed the 1,200-megawatt (MW)

Vineyard Wind 2, which would sit 29 miles (46.7 kilometers)

south of Nantucket in Massachusetts. The project could start in

2031.

Vineyard Offshore is held by funds managed by Copenhagen

Infrastructure Partners.

After contracts to sell offshore wind power to utilities in

Massachusetts and Connecticut were scrapped due to rising costs

from higher interest rates and supply chain problems,

Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island agreed in October

2023 to jointly pursue offshore wind to help get more projects

built.

Some companies that canceled contracts to sell offshore wind

power in the U.S. Northeast in 2023 have indicated they have

projects ready to be bid in upcoming solicitations. Those

include units of Avangrid ( AGR ), BP, EDP Energias de Portugal

and Engie.

Although Orsted has not canceled projects in New England, it

has dropped contracts to sell offshore wind power in New York,

New Jersey and Maryland over the past year.