Utilities Study 700 MW Wind Farm Off Long Island Coast
The U.S. may lag behind Europe when it comes to generating power from offshore wind farms, but a proposed wind farm off the Long Island Coast would be a big step forward in catching up.
Consolidated Edison and the Long Island Power Authority say they want to build a 700 megawatt in the Atlantic Ocean, about 13 miles off the Rockaway Pennisula. The project would be built in two stages of 350 MW each.
A draft assessment of the project released by Con Ed and LIPA this week said it would cost about $415 million to expand electricity transmission capabilities to handle the first 350 MW phase when built.
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The report said a 350 MW farm operating at 30 percent capacity could power 250,000 homes a year. It would displace 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of taking 68,000 cars off the road.
Gov. David Patterson, who has proposed that New York generate 45 percent of its electricity from efficiency improvements and renewable means by 2015, issued a statement commending Con Ed and LIPA for their work. But, it will be a while before anything gets built. LIPA and Con Ed’s next move will be to study the environmental impact and economic feasibility of the farm and to seek interest from developers who would want to build the facility.
As Bloomberg News pointed out this week, it’s not the first time officials have considered offshore wind for Long Island. The authority killed an $811 million, 140-megawatt offshore project in 2007 because cost estimates skyrocketed.
And offshore wind power in the U.S. is, to be charitable, just getting off the ground. New Jersey has accepted a 350 MW offshore project. The much publicized and debated Cape Wind project off Nantucket may finally be headed for construction as well. Developers are turning their eyes toward the Great Lakes as a source of offshore wind power.
Projects in Denmark, Portugal and grand plans elsewhere put Europe well ahead here. But it looks like finally, offshore projects are gaining a foothold in the U.S. wind industry. The project also represents another step forward for Con Ed, which recently announced plans for a solar pilot program in New York City.
Photo credit: Keith Marshall’s Flickr stream, via a Creative Commons License.
In a related story, senators Diane Feinstein and Edward Kennedy have voiced strong objections to this project. They point out that besides the overwhelming environmental impacts, Con Ed stands to gain too much profit once the capitol costs are met. Feinstein is sponsoring a bill to prevent these harmful windfarms from being built everywhere. Contact her office and let your objections be heard.
Oh heavens! We have an offshore wind gap! Sounds kind of like the missile gap!
1. In Europe there are few on shore locations available
2. Remember when Kennedy was against one of the Mass coast as he might be able to barely see it from his summer home - the Nantucket project possibly.
3. Feinstein has a summer home where she is worried about the view as well maybe?
These ‘overwhelming environmental impacts’ are a figment of an overactive political mind. The ‘excess’ profit can easily be handled in setting the allowable rates.