New York seeking developer for Great Lakes wind

LEWISTON, NEW YORK - New York State is looking for developers to build and operate wind turbines in the Great Lakes as part of a plan to use more renewable energy.

The New York Power Authority invited potential developers to submit proposals for offshore wind projects in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The authority plans to award one or more projects a year from now.

The offshore turbines would be the first for New York and among the first in North America, depending on when they get up and running.

The state-owned utility wants to see them producing between 120 and 500 megawatts of electricity by 2015, the year Gov. David Paterson has set for the state to be meeting 45 percent of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and clean renewable energy.

"This is not a dream. This is becoming a reality," NYPA President and Chief Executive Richard Kessel said at the Niagara Power Project, another NYPA electricity producer that diverts water from the Niagara River for hydropower.

NYPA is seeking one or more developers to construct, operate and maintain 40 to 200 turbines two to seven miles off shore in one or both of the lakes.

Authorities have estimated the total project would cost $700 million to $1 billion, which the owners could make back in power sales. NYPA would buy all of the power, Kessel said, which would be connected to the grid via an offshore substation.

The state, working with environmental groups, has identified potential locations that wouldn't interfere with shipping or wildlife migration, Kessel said. Lakes Erie and Ontario are the smallest of the five Great Lakes, which together form the largest surface freshwater system on earth.

"We have to be very sensitive to the environment of the Great Lakes, whether it's the fish or the birds or bats, or the water itself," Kessel said.

Similar projects are being considered in Canada, on the northern side of Lake Erie, as well as off the Toronto shoreline of Lake Ontario.

Related News

canada electricity lines

Cleaning up Canada's electricity is critical to meeting climate pledges

TORONTO - A new tool has been proposed in the federal election campaign as a way of eradicating the carbon emissions from Canada’s patchwork electricity system. 

As the country’s need for power grows through the decarbonization of transportation, industry and space heating, the Liberal Party climate plan is proposing a clean energy standard to help Canada achieve a 100% net-zero-electricity system by 2035. 

The proposal echoes a report released August 19 by the David Suzuki Foundation and a group of environmental NGOs that also calls for a clean electricity standard, capping power-sector emissions, and tighter carbon-pricing regulations. The report, written by Simon…

READ MORE
brain scan

Zapping elderly brains with electricity improves short-term memory — for almost an hour

READ MORE

doug ford

Hydro One stock has too much political risk to recommend, Industrial Alliance says

READ MORE

powerlines

Ontario, Quebec to swap energy in new deal to help with electricity demands

READ MORE

graph

Florida PSC approves Gulf Power’s purchase of renewable energy produced at municipal solid waste plant

READ MORE