Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a massive, 90-megawatt wind farm has been approved off the coast of Long Island, making it the largest offshore wind farm in the United States. This project is part of Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard which aims to have 50 percent of the state’s energy powered by renewables by 2030.
It’s being called the South Fork Wind Farm and will be New York’s first offshore wind farm. Long Islanders have little to fear about their beach views, as the wind farm will be 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. It’s expected that the South Fork Wind Farm will produce 1,000 megawatts of energy, enough to power 50,000 homes. This is one of the state’s first steps towards hitting its 2030 goal of hitting a 2.4 gigawatt target. If that target is met, it will power 1.25 million homes.
“New York leads the nation in pioneering clean energy innovation, and this bold action marks the next step in our unprecedented commitment to offshore wind, as well as our ambitious long-term energy goal of supplying half of all electricity from renewable sources by 2030,” Cuomo said in a press release.
Regardless of the politics of the current presidential administration, Cuomo is all in on curbing climate change. “This project will not only provide a new, reliable source of clean energy, but will also create high-paying jobs, continue our efforts to combat climate change, and help preserve our environment for current and future generations of New Yorkers,” he said.
Deepwater Wind is the company behind the South Fork Wind Farm. Much like Tesla’s Powerwall, it too will utilize battery energy storage facilities.
With New York being so steadfast in thinking green, it will be interesting to see if other cities follow suit.
