Liberty Wind proposes 1,200 Megawatts of offshore wind power to New York
Staff Writer |
Vineyard Wind announced a new offshore wind project proposal to serve New York called Liberty Wind.
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The Liberty Wind proposal was submitted in response to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) solicitation of offshore wind project proposals for supplying New York with clean, emission free offshore wind energy.
The Liberty Wind proposal includes 400, 800 and 1,200 megawatt project size options.
The 1,200 megawatt project, which is the most cost-effective option for New York ratepayers, would be one of the largest offshore wind projects in the world and would make a major contribution to Governor Andrew Cuomo's objective of developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy to supply New York.
The Liberty Wind 1,200 megawatt project would supply enough emission free energy to power over 750,000 New York homes.
Liberty Wind will also bring substantial economic development and job creation benefits to New York, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and thousands of jobs on Long Island, the Capitol Region, and in New York City.
Foundation components will be fabricated at a port facility in the Capitol Region and transported down the Hudson River to the project site in the Atlantic Ocean.
Liberty Wind's turbines will be located in federal waters 85 miles away from the nearest New York shore, and will not be visible from any New York shoreline.
The project will deliver up to 1,200 megawatts of clean power directly to the New York grid at an existing substation on Long Island.
The power will be delivered by a submarine cable that comes to shore and is then buried along an existing roadway onshore.
The grid connection will utilize an advanced high voltage direct current system that will ensure reliable delivery of the energy and also enhance the resiliency of New York's grid, particularly in outage situations during major storms.
"Our team's extensive offshore wind experience from around the world and nearby in New England, where we are building the nation's first utility scale offshore wind project, allows us to deliver the best project for New York," said Lars Thaaning Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind.
"Liberty Wind will bring clean energy at the lowest price to New York ratepayers along with substantial economic benefits for the state through investments in local infrastructure and businesses and by utilizing the state's existing supply chain and workforce."
Vineyard Wind is collaborating with transmission developer Anbaric Development Partners (Anbaric) for Liberty Wind.
Anbaric has helped spearhead the development of two transmission projects serving New York.
Vineyard Wind will finance and own the generation components of the project and Anbaric will finance and own the transmission components.
"Anbaric is delighted to be teaming up with Vineyard Wind on the Liberty Wind Project," said Anbaric CEO Ed Krapels.
"Our buried cable will bring renewable power into the heart of the Long Island electric grid, where it can be distributed to hundreds of thousands of customers in southern New York.
"This is the first leg of a well-designed New York ocean grid for offshore wind that will help achieve Governor Cuomo's goal of building a planned offshore grid." ■