Long Island’s Atlantic shore has an abundant supply of offshore wind year-round. Modern offshore wind turbine technology, used in Europe for decades, allows us to turn our offshore breezes into a major source of affordable and renewable power for Long Island and New York.
Benefits of offshore wind include:
- Clean, locally produced power where demand is highest
- Thousands of construction, manufacturing, and operations jobs
- Avoiding greenhouse gas emissions
The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) compiled an offshore wind masterplan which includes 20 studies. The state is working diligently to ensure that offshore wind is developed in the most responsible and cost-effective way possible as New York plans to become a hub for the emerging offshore wind energy industry in the U.S. Click here for more information on NYSERDA’s offshore wind program.
The first ever offshore wind farm in New York is the 12-turbine South Fork Wind Farm being developed by Ørsted/Eversource. It will be located over the horizon about 35 miles off Montauk and connected in East Hampton via undersea cable. The wind farm was selected by LIPA for a 20-year contract, along with battery storage and a demand reduction program, as the most cost-effective package amongst competing proposals in the 2015 South Fork Request for Proposals (RFP). The 130 megawatt wind farm will produce enough electricity to power about 70,000 homes. It is expected to be in operation by the end of 2023.
Find more information on the South Fork Wind Farm on the Town of East Hampton webpage.
East Hampton’s goals to meet 100% of community-wide annual energy consumption with renewable energy could not be achieved without offshore wind power.
With the 2019 Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, NY State is supporting the development of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, enough to power up to 6 million homes.
In its first phase of offshore wind solicitations, NYSERDA selected two large offshore wind farms, totalling almost 1,700 megawatts which will supply enough energy for 1 million homes by the year 2024. In the second phase, NYSERDA selected two additional offshore wind projects, totaling 2,490 megawatts which can supply enough energy for 1.3 million homes. Additional projects are expected at NY bight sites identified by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
