New York is making progress in its development of offshore wind power … growth environmental experts say is essential to reach the state’s climate goals.
Most of us have seen windmills that generate electricity on land. That might have been a single, large turbine with its long propeller-like blades, or a series of them on a hill or as part of a large wind farm. Now the ocean is becoming home for your power.
The New York Energy Research and Development Authority’s Janna Herndon says off-shore wind has been used in parts of Europe for three decades.
“The wind turbines are either affixed to the ocean floor or hammered into the ocean floor,” she explains. “And then at the very top you have three blades that capture the wind’s energy which is then transferred back to shore through buried cables. They’re buried underneath the sea floor.”
(NYSERDA's Janna Herndon spoke to us for our Deeper Shade of Green podcast; listen here)
The state is leaning heavily into large offshore projects to reach ambitious climate goals, including one that’s already going.
“The South Fork wind project has 12 turbines, generating enough power to power approximately 70,000 homes. It interconnects with the state’s electricity grid in East Hampton. So that is the state’s first operating offshore wind farm,” said Herndon.
NYSERDA has contracts for two more projects that have been approved and are under construction. One advantage of these large-scale generating projects is they can be very efficient.
“The waters off of New York and the mid-Atlantic and New England region have some of the strongest and most consistent winds in the nation. And as a result, we have the ability to capture that energy and transfer it to areas of highest demand, that would be New York City and Long Island. So, it’s locally produced, clean energy where it’s needed most,” added Herndon.
This video by Siemens, a developer of offshore wind installation equipment, shows how the turbines get placed into the sea floor.
Not everyone is supportive; some coastal residents fear their views will be spoiled; fisherman worry the wind farms could limit access to key fishing areas; and the incoming Trump administration has claimed that the turbines can kill whales, an assertion that’s largely been proven false, but indicates potential federal opposition.
Herndon acknowledges those criticisms – which she says are taken into design and placement. New York passed a law with a goal of having 70-percent of the state’s electricity produced by renewable sources by 2035.
“The state’s transition to renewable sources of energy will be critical in reducing our dependence on traditional generation sources, those being fossil-fuel based,” Herndon emphasized. “So, the more we can bring on offshore wind, on-shore wind, solar, and clean sources of electricity, then we can transition to an emissions-free electricity grid to avoid those most dire impacts of climate change.”
Herndon further suggests the growth of offshore wind will develop an economy for materials, parts, service and installation that can create thousands of jobs.
So, the sector is poised to grow … the state projects up to 9-thousand megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035.