The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is expected to formally approve New York’s first ever offshore wind farm, Deepwater Wind’s 90MW Deepwater ONE – South Fork project, at its board meeting on 20 July.
The State Governor Andrew Cuomo stated: “The LIPA Board of Trustees Wednesday will consider advancing the development of the nation’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Long Island. I strongly encourage the Trustees to once again demonstrate New York’s leadership on climate change and help achieve the state’s ambitious goal of supplying 50 percent of our electricity from renewable energy by 2030.
“Investing in New York’s clean energy economy strengthens our communities by providing access to clean, affordable power and good quality green jobs. Next week marks another opportunity for this state to lead the nation in creating a stronger, more resilient energy system and protecting the environment for future generations.”
Deepwater ONE – South Fork project will comprise 15 turbines and represents the first phase of a regional offshore wind farm Deepwater Wind is developing some 30 miles (approx. 48km) southeast of Montauk, New York.
To complement the wind farm, the company is also proposing to build two new battery energy storage facilities, which will consist of lithium-ion battery technology designed and installed by General Electric.
Deepwater Wind said it designed the Deepwater ONE project using the same technology as the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2016.
For over five years, New York’s local, state and national organizations along with communities up and down Long Island in partnership with labor, municipal leaders and businesses have been actively engaged in pushing LIPA to embrace offshore wind power. Today, they cheered this announcement as the necessary first step in a bold long-term large scale offshore wind program for New York, Sierra Club said.