GP: Long Island Sees Wind Potential

["Tom Gray" <tomgray@igc.org>]

The following article is from Wind Energy Weekly #992, April 26, 2002.  Each
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STUDY SHOWS OFFSHORE WIND
POTENTIAL FOR LONG ISLAND
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On April 22, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) released a study
evaluating the potential for offshore wind generation to supply Long Island.
The first-ever study shows that a maximum of about 5,200 MW of electricity
could be produced by wind generators placed in a 314-square-mile band that
stretches three to six nautical miles off Long Island’s south shore and east
of Montauk Point. By restricting the placement of offshore wind turbines to
a smaller, 135-square-mile band up to three nautical miles from shore, with
water depths of 50 feet or less, about 2,250 MW of wind-generated power
could be produced to meet Long Island's electricity demand.

LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel said LIPA would hold a pre-proposal meeting
for interested wind generation developers June 25 to gather further
information and begin the process of soliciting proposals for offshore wind
generation projects before the end of the year. Kessel invited environmental
groups to participate in the selection process.

Working with the local, state, and federal entities that have oversight on
the development of such a project, it would take three to five years to
plan, review, approve, and construct offshore wind generators.

The feasibility report, entitled "Long Island’s Offshore Wind Energy
Development Potential: A Preliminary Assessment," was prepared by AWS
Scientific, Inc. It can be downloaded from
http://www.lipower.org/pdfs/features/LIPA%20Offshore%20Final%20Report.pdf .
The project was co-funded by LIPA and the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA).

"The study shows that harnessing the wind to produce electricity for Long
Island has tremendous potential," said Kessel. "It’s not without challenges,
but the preliminary study demonstrates that it’s certainly worth moving
forward with follow-up assessments to determine the best locations for
siting offshore turbines, and to obtain more detailed information on the
costs and environmental benefits of offshore wind generation."

"Under Governor Pataki’s leadership, New York State is now the home to two
of the largest wind farms in the Eastern United States," said NYSERDA
President William M. Flynn. "Developing additional wind power resources in
the State is a key component of the State’s overall energy strategy, as
noted in the State’s 2002 Draft Energy Plan, to reduce our dependence on
energy produced by burning fossil fuels."

Bruce Bailey, of AWS Scientific, said, "Initial feedback that I've gotten
from local environmental organizations is strongly supportive of offshore
wind development. They understand that going offshore is the only real
option for Long Island if it wants to pursue wind energy in a significant
way. Now it's time for the public and other stakeholders to weigh in on the
issue." He added, "Because we expect visibility to be a key public
acceptance issue, the report includes photo simulations of hypothetical
100-MW wind projects at varying distances from shore. What's interesting
about Long Island is that the barrier beaches along its south shore provide
a natural visual barrier for many shoreline communities."

"Wind power is a clean and inexhaustible source of energy," stated Kathleen
Whitley, Program Manager for the Sustainable Energy Alliance (SEA). "In
addition, it promotes stable energy pricing and will bring jobs to the local
economy. These are win-win benefits for LIPA, Long Island residents, and the
environment."

Since offshore wind development is new to the United States and has only
taken place in northern Europe, the study focuses on broad issues relating
to the state-of-the-art technology and its applicability to the Long Island
environment. The main objective of the study was to identify offshore areas
that appear to have the best potential for wind energy development, and to
also examine the implications of delivering offshore-generated electricity
into LIPA’s on-island transmission system.

The study found that:

· The most feasible offshore area for wind generators is a 314-square-mile
band that stretches along the entire south shore and to the east of Montauk
Point;
· A 100 MW offshore project would cost about $150-180 million;
· Interconnection costs would range from $40-70 million;
· Developing wind generators within the entire south shore band (which runs
three to six miles offshore) could produce about 5,200 MW of electricity;
· Developing wind generators in a smaller 135-square-mile band, running out
to three miles offshore, could produce as much as 2,250 MW of power;
· Most offshore wind generation developed in Europe has been done in water
50 feet or less in depth;
· The rotor hub for an offshore wind turbine would be 262 feet above the
surface of the water, and rotor blades 164 feet long would make the tip of
the rotor reach a height of 426 feet above the surface of the water;
· An initial assessment suggests the avian impacts should not be
ecologically significant; however a more detailed study would be needed at
specific site locations; and
· The permitting process, due to multiple oversight entities, would take a
minimum of three years.

According to Kessel, the offshore wind generation study is part of LIPA’s
Clean Energy Initiative (CEI), which is a multi-year, $170-million program
implemented at Governor George Pataki’s direction to promote energy
conservation and efficiency and to research, develop, and implement the use
of alternative energy technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal and fuel
cells. Under its CEI program, LIPA has: instituted a Solar Pioneer program
to encourage the use of solar power systems; developed fuel cell technology
in partnership with Plug Power, Inc., and currently has 75 grid-connected
units producing electricity for LIPA’s grid; increased the application of
geothermal technology for heating and cooling systems islandwide; and
undertaken an aggressive market transformation program to promote the use of
Energy Star-rated appliances and energy efficient lights and lighting
fixtures.

"No doubt about it, offshore wind generation for Long Island holds promise
for the future," said Kessel. "We’re going to move forward with a more
detailed evaluation of its potential so that we can develop some specific
recommendations for the placement of wind generators off Long Island’s south
shore."

According to LIPA, the June 25 meeting would bring together interested Long
Island groups and wind generation developers to provide information to
eventually draft an offshore wind generation Request For Proposals (RFP).
Further studies would be planned. The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. in LIPA’
s second floor Assembly Room in the Omni Building in Uniondale.

NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, supports research to develop and
demonstrate technologies that help New York businesses, municipalities and
residents save energy and reduce emissions; helps New York State businesses
develop energy and environmental products; and helps businesses, residents,
and municipalities identify and implement cost-effective energy efficiency
measures.

More information about NYSERDA's programs is available at
http://www.ntserda.org (http://www.ntserda.org/) .

LIPA provides electric service to approximately 1.1 million customers in
Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens.


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This discussion group is sponsored in part by: 
  * Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology, http://www.crest.org
  * Global Environmental Options, http://www.geonetwork.org
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