Within a span of two weeks, a public-private collaborative that aims to harness the Atlantic winds off the Rockaways recently sought the advice of wind power experts –and learned that federal funding could soon be blowing its way.
These developments are tangible signs of progress in a year-old initiative that could ultimately result in the largest offshore wind farm in the United States.
The Long Island-New York City Offshore Wind Project is sponsored by Con Edison and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and supported by the New York Power Authority, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The initiative is a product of Governor David Paterson’s Renewable Energy Task Force and its costs and energy production will be shared by participating members.
The partnership – which was formed in April, following Con Ed and LIPA’s September 2008 initiation of the plan – released a Request for Information (RFI) on June 30, seeking advice from wind developers, equipment manufacturers, and other interested parties.
The proposal calls for the creation of an offshore wind farm – which would likely be designed for 350 megawatts of power generation, or enough power for over 250,000 homes – approximately 13 miles off the south shore of the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. The project could potentially expand to 700 megawatts of power generation.
A week after the collaborative issued its RFI, Congressmember Gary Ackerman announced that the $500,000 he requested for a LIPA and Con Edison feasibility study had been included in broader energy legislation – the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2010 – scheduled to be voted on Thursday, July 16 by the House of Representatives.
The funding would be used to study environmental issues, transmission infrastructure, interconnection points and the feasibility of wind as an energy source, according to Ackerman’s office, and would build on the results of a joint Con Ed-LIPA study released in March.
In a news release, Ackerman said the funds would help Con Ed and LIPA “continue to examine the viability of developing this important project.”
In the release, LIPA President and CEO Kevin Law thanked Ackerman, noting that such “key federal dollars” would “help increase the state’s renewable energy portfolio, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create new clean energy jobs.”
The collaborative recently launched a web site, www.linycoffshorewind.com, in an effort to keep the wind industry, neighboring communities and stakeholders informed of the project’s progress.
