New York Approves Largest US Offshore Wind Farm Off Long Island (computerworld.com)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has approved what will be the longest U.S. offshore wind farm when it's built off the east end of Long Island. When it's all said and done, it will generate enough electricity to power more than 50,000 homes on Long Island's South Fork. Computerworld reports: The South Fork Wind Farm will consist of 15 wind turbines with 90 megawatts (MW) of capacity. While the project still needs to complete its permitting process, construction could start as early as 2019 and it may be operational as early as 2022. The approval of the South Fork Wind Farm, to be located 30 miles southeast of Montauk, is the first step toward developing 1,000 megawatts (1 gigawatt) of offshore wind power, Cuomo said in a statement. The wind farm approval comes two weeks after Cuomo's State of the State Address, during which he called for the development of 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. The 2.4 gigawatt target, which is enough power generation for 1.25 million homes, is the largest commitment to offshore wind energy in U.S. history, Cuomo said. Cuomo wants New York state to get 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. The nation's first offshore wind farm, the Block Island Wind Farm, went live last month. Both the Block Island and South Fork wind farms are owned by Deepwater Wind, a company based in Providence, R.I.

Comments

I'll believe it when I see it

[dcavanaugh]

So far, NIMBYs have been very effective at killing offshore wind farms. Waterfront property is typically owned by "special" people, and they don't like the noise of wind turbines. http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo...

Re:I'll believe it when I see it

[dcavanaugh]

DIrect quote from the article:

But Cape Cod is a region famous for its pastoral ocean views, including the one visible from the Kennedy compound at Hyannisport. Once built, the wind-power plant would be faintly visible on the skyline of this tourist-dependent community, particularly during clear days.

"We wouldn't build a wind farm in the middle of Yosemite," Robert Kennedy Jr., son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, has argued. "People want to look out and see the same sight the Pilgrims saw."

I mentioned it because there have been numerous wind farm proposals near Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, and ALL of them have been defeated. The excuses change every so often, as the NIMBYs align themselves with whatever allies they can find.

Re:Let's hope it does better than Shoreham Nuclear

[cavreader]

"It's doubtful they understood the risks of nuclear back in the 70s"
I am pretty sure they started learning about the dangers of nuclear processes starting back in the 1940's.
"It took a Fukushima accident... "
Have you ever heard about the 3 Mile Island incident back in 1979? The Chernobyl accident was in 1986. The Fukushima accident didn't happen until 2011.

Re:Let's hope it does better than Shoreham Nuclear

[Joce640k]

"It took a Fukushima accident... "
Have you ever heard about the 3 Mile Island incident back in 1979? The Chernobyl accident was in 1986. The Fukushima accident didn't happen until 2011.

Why can you Yanks never admit the Brits beat you to anything? The Brits had a nuclear accident way back in 1957 (Windscale), long before 3 Mile Island was even in the planning stage.

Re:lets destroy the view

[DickBreath]

You know, I don't like the look of all those power poles and cell towers either. But I wouldn't trade them for not having the services they provide which make our lives infinitely easier compared to past generations. We still live in the greatest time to be alive. Tylenol. Caffeine. Viagra. Electricity. Cars. Magical mobile information devices we carry in our pockets that can answer voice questions.

In a generation, different people will look out on the ocean and think: how beautiful the graceful windmills are compared to coal power plants belching out pollution.

Yes, modern life has some curses associated with it, such as FaceTwit. But still I wouldn't live in any other past time.