A new study, offering a roadmap of key strategic steps New York State can take to reduce costs of offshore wind power over the next decade, has been published.
Conducted by the University of Delaware’s Special Initiative on Offshore Wind (SIOW) for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the study finds that ongoing technology and industry advances combined with actions New York could take, independently or with other states, could lower costs for offshore wind power as much as 50 percent and bring the clean-energy source closer to realizing its potential for “delivering utility-scale renewable electric generation” to New York City and nearby areas such as Long Island.
A primary conclusion from the report is that supporting offshore wind development at scale, rather than on a project-by-project basis, could have the greatest impact on reducing costs.
Other actions the report cites that could lower costs include creating and using innovative financing mechanisms, developing infrastructure to reduce costs, and supporting site characterization for early projects to reduce development expenses and risk.
“Well-designed policies and actions taken by New York, as well as by other states, can play an essential role in helping New York City and other U.S. East Coast population centers benefit from gigawatts of clean energy that could be generated by deploying wind turbines off the Atlantic coast,” said S tephanie McClellan, Director, SIOW .
McClellan is presenting the report’s findings at the March 10-12 “Offshore 2015” conference, the world’s largest annual offshore wind energy gathering held by the European Wind Energy Association in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“In Europe, advanced offshore wind turbines are already in the water and powering the grid today,” said McClellan. “The U.S. can take advantage of innovations and cost efficiencies that have already been developed in Germany, Denmark, and elsewhere. The key for U.S. states is to send clear signals to the markets and begin implementing these steps now to help make offshore wind more competitive with other sources of electricity.”
A significant benefit of offshore wind power is its proximity to the New York City metropolitan area. Offshore wind has the potential to dramatically increase the percentage of clean energy used within New York City, the largest power consumer in New York State, adding systems benefits to the electric grid while reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
This study helps to inform the State’s efforts to develop its offshore wind strategy. The New York Power Authority, through a collaborative effort with Consolidated Edison Co. of New York and the Long Island Power Authority, has applied for a lease from the federal Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to develop offshore wind off Long Island.
Other recent efforts to understand New York’s ocean uses include the Offshore Atlantic Ocean Study published by the New York Department of State, which contains the most comprehensive data available on wildlife and human uses in the Atlantic Ocean offshore New York. That study provides a baseline of information that will help to identify areas of the ocean that may be suitable for future offshore wind project development and to prioritize additional data needs in those areas.
For a copy of the SIOW report click the following link .