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State awards contracts for two more offshore wind farms 

Credit:  By Christopher Walsh | The East Hampton Star | July 18, 2019 | easthamptonstar.com ~~

Asserting that New York State “will lead the way in developing the largest source of offshore wind power in the United States of America,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Thursday that Sunrise Wind, a joint venture of the Danish energy company Orsted and the Connecticut company Eversource, and Empire Wind, proposed by the Norwegian company Equinor, have each been awarded a contract to develop offshore wind farms that will jointly generate 1,700 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power more than 1 million residences.

The 880-megawatt Sunrise Wind farm is to be constructed in a federal lease area more than 30 miles east of Montauk and will send power to Long Island, “and Long Island needs that power and needs it today,” the governor said. The 816-megawatt Empire Wind is to be situated 14 miles southeast of Manhattan and its electricity will serve New York City. On and offshore construction could commence in 2022 with the projects completed by 2024, Governor Cuomo said.

The announcement came as the governor signed into law the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which sets the state’s goals of 70 percent of electricity derived from renewable sources by 2030 and 100-percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. “By 2050, we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall by 85 percent, with a new climate council established that will offset the remainder to make New York a 100-percent carbon neutral economy, period,” he said.

With former Vice President Al Gore at his side and standing before officials and activists at Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan, the governor said that “the actions we take today will be the most consequential of my administration.”

Both men denounced the Trump administration’s environmental policies and the president’s denial of climate change. Thursday’s actions, the governor said, “literally will determine the future, or the lack thereof.”

“To deny climate change is to deny reality,” Governor Cuomo said. “All credible scientists agree. Yet the President of the United States denies it. Why? Because it is not politically convenient for him to acknowledge reality.” Fossil fuels, he said, “represent major industries in this country, and because change is hard, it causes disruption, and political systems abhor disruption. But the American chorus demanding action is now deafening and we are overpowering the forces vested in the status quo,” he said to cheers.

The governor also announced a $20 million program to train workers in wind power jobs. The state university system will “lead the nation in this new job training opportunity,” he said. “These projects will generate $3.2 billion in economic activity, 1,600 construction and permanent jobs, and these projects will have a union project labor agreement before they commence.”

Mr. Gore, whom the governor said is “a leader for the ages” and with whom he served in the Clinton administration, called New York’s actions “the most ambitious of any state in the country” in addressing climate change. “Our transition away from the dirty and polluting ways of the past is essential to our survival, for reasons well known by all of us here.” The effort is “not being led at the federal level at all, but, thank goodness, it is being led by New York State and others that have joined with the leadership of Governor Cuomo.”

Last November, the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency issued its first solicitation for 800 megawatts or more of offshore wind energy pursuant to the State Public Service Commission’s order adopting the Offshore Wind Standard, a framework for an initial phase of offshore wind energy solicitations. Bids were due in February. An announcement of the winning bids has been expected for weeks.

A stated goal calls for 9,000 megawatts of wind power by 2035. The first phase of 800 megawatts or more is intended to stimulate development of a domestic offshore wind industry.

Orsted and Eversource are planning to construct the 15-turbine South Fork Wind Farm approximately 35 miles east of Montauk, a project that was initially proposed by Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind and is presently in the federal, state, and local permitting stages. Orsted acquired Deepwater Wind last year, renaming its new American affiliate Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind. Orsted took on Eversource as a partner soon after, the latter company acquiring a 50-percent stake in the South Fork Wind Farm and another proposed project.

In a statement issued shortly after the governor and former vice president spoke, Christer af Geijerstam, president of Equinor Wind US, said that, “Being selected in this highly competitive field of bidders shows the confidence that New York leadership has in Equinor’s capabilities of developing large offshore energy projects, delivering affordable renewable energy while also providing significant economic benefits locally. We are now looking forward to working with our partners throughout New York State to bring this project forward.”

Scientists have reported with increasing urgency that global greenhouse emissions must decline precipitously and quickly in order to lessen the impact of rising temperatures, which are resulting in more extreme weather, wildfires, melting glaciers, and rising sea level. “We are at a crossroads on the environment,” Basil Seggos, commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Conservation, said moments before Governor Cuomo’s remarks. “We are almost literally watching the world melting. The federal government has chosen to turn a blind eye, retreat from action, and even make matters worse. It has fallen to states to lead. I can say with clarity, no state is doing what New York is doing, no governor is doing what Governor Cuomo is doing for the environment.”

“We’re gaining momentum,” Mr. Gore said. “We still have it within our power to grab hold of this crisis.”

Source:  By Christopher Walsh | The East Hampton Star | July 18, 2019 | easthamptonstar.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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