The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will host an open house to discuss the state’s efforts to advance offshore wind on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Southampton High School.
NYSERDA staff will present details, including about local impacts and opportunities, of two projects that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced in July: Sunrise Wind, a joint venture of the Danish energy company Orsted and the Connecticut company Eversource, and Empire Wind, proposed by the Norwegian company Equinor. Each was awarded a contract to develop offshore wind farms that would together generate nearly 1,700 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power more than 1 million residences.
The 880-megawatt Sunrise Wind farm is to be constructed in a federal lease area more than 30 miles east of Montauk, adjacent to Orsted and Eversource’s proposed South Fork Wind Farm, sending the electricity it generates to Long Island. The 816-megawatt Empire Wind is to be situated 14 miles southeast of Manhattan and its electricity is to serve New York City. On and offshore construction could commence in 2022, with the projects completed by 2024, Governor Cuomo said in July.
The two projects represent the largest commitment, to date, to offshore wind in the United States.
Wednesday’s open house is part of a series of such events. An open house was held on Staten Island on Monday and another is scheduled for tonight in Albany. One will be held at Brookhaven Town Hall on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and another at Long Beach City Hall next Thursday, with others at the Queens Public Library’s Far Rockaway branch on Sept. 23 and at Sims Municipal Recycling in Brooklyn on Sept. 25.
The governor’s July announcement of the wind farm contracts came as he signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which sets the state’s goals of 70 percent of electricity derived from renewable sources by 2030 and 100-percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. He also announced a $20 million program to train workers in wind power jobs.