In response to the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA)’s request for new sources of renewable energy, Deepwater Wind is proposing supplying Long Island with more than 200 megawatts of renewable energy from Deepwater ONE – an offshore wind farm located approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, New York.
At this distance, the wind farm will be “over the horizon,” and not visible from any point on Long Island.
Deepwater ONE would provide a much-needed source of new, renewable energy to the East End of Long Island. The project would reduce fossil-fuel emissions, stabilize energy costs, and generate new jobs and investment on Long Island.
“Our proposal not only provides a cost-effective source of new clean energy, but it also has the unique ability to deliver large quantities of energy to the East End – where demand is growing – without being seen,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski.
Deepwater Wind in July 2013 won the 30-year lease to develop the Deepwater ONE project in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)’s first-ever competitive lease auction for offshore wind covered two parcels, totaling approximately 256 square miles in the Atlantic Ocean 30 miles east of Montauk.
Deepwater ONE is an important step in moving the United States to a clean-energy future. Because of the economies of scale and the continuing maturity of the American offshore wind industry, the project’s power price will be competitive with both traditional fossil fuel power and other clean sources of energy. Moreover, the wind farm will deliver power at a price significantly lower than the first generation of offshore wind farms proposed in the U.S.
Deepwater Wind proposes delivering power to an existing LIPA-owned substation on the South Fork, reducing energy demands on the East End. The project will provide peak power to Long Island, generating most of its energy during peak usage periods and on cold, winter days when the demand on Long Island’s gas supplies is heaviest.
Construction could begin as early as 2017, with commercial operations by 2018. Deepwater ONE will produce enough energy to power approximately 120,000 homes, displace tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, and improve air quality on the East End.
Deepwater ONE is the best site for offshore wind in the United States, located in deeper ocean waters – taking advantage of the strong and steady winds of the Atlantic Ocean – and farther from shore than any other proposed project.
Press Release, March 27, 2014; Image: deepwaterwind