The Long Island Power Authority voted to approve the nation’s largest offshore wind farm, 30 miles southeast of Montauk Point.
The project is part of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to get 50 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Neal Lewis, executive director of the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College, says he's pleased about this project going forward, but he's cautious about future wind farms.
“For all the environmental groups, this project is very exciting and we want to see it be a success story. But we’re also very nervous about whether this is going to be our only victory because the new president is so anti-wind.”
The farm, operated by Deepwater Wind, has a 20-year purchase agreement, which allows LIPA to only pay for the energy they receive.
Once operational in late 2022, the farm could provide energy to nearly 50,000 homes. Last November, Deepwater began full operation of the nation’s first offshore wind farm off of Block Island, Rhode Island.