Clean Energy: Agreement To Build The Largest Offshore Wind Farm In The US Approved

The construction of the New York's first offshore wind farm 30 miles east of Montauk, New York, and the largest offshore wind farm in the United States has been approved on Wednesday. The proposed wind farm could empower 50,000 households.

Jeffrey Grybowski, the CEO of Deepwater Wind, the wind farm's developer, said that this is a big day for clean energy in New York and in the United States. He further said that there is a huge clean energy resource blowing off the coastline just over the horizon. Also, it is time to tap into this unlimited resource to power the communities.

According to Mr. Grybowski, the construction will cost $740 million and will start in 2020. It will be operational by 2022. He added that they think that thousands of megawatts will be built off the coast of the United States in the coming decades.

Meanwhile, Thomas Falcone, the CEO of the Long Island Power Authority, said that the 90 megawatts, 15-turbine offshore wind project would generate electricity to give power to 50,000 homes in Long Island. He further said that it is not the last project and it would not be the largest project.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Long Island Power Authority signed a 20-year contract with Deepwater Wind LLC in December. The authority will also be the one to build the first offshore wind farm in Long Island. In the agreement, the government will pay for the energy generated. On the other hand, it will not expend for the site's construction and management.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo targets a development of about 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind projects by 2030. This could empower about 1.25 million households. He also stated that the proposed wind farm would create high-paying jobs while helping to advance New York's efforts to combat climate change, according to Yahoo.