NYPA Seeking Lease for Offshore Wind Farm
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The New York Power Authority announced Wednesday that it will be applying for a lease from federal regulators to build one of the nation's first offshore wind farms, according to Reuters.
The farm would be built in the Atlantic Ocean 13 to 15 miles off Long Island with the goal of producing 350 to 700 megawatts by 2016, which would help the city and state meet renewable energy goals and reduce carbon emissions. Currently, no offshore wind farms exist in the U.S., though several are under development. (At right: Middelgrunden Offshore Wind Farm, Copenhagen, Denmark.)
The NYPA could not say how much the project would cost but estimated that updating the transmission system alone would cost between $415 million and $821 million. The 25-year lease would cover 64,500 acres below the Atlantic.
Read more about renewable energy in Electric Bugaboo in our May 2010 issue.
–Michael Webster
Photo from PEBondestad on Flickr