By Nano Arnold
Our proposed project is the construction of an array of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island.
The nameplate capacity of the plant would be 1080 MW after both phases are complete, making it the largest offshore wind farm in the world. For comparison, the nameplate capacity of the nuclear facility at Indian Point is about 2000 MW (of course, the difference in output would be larger than that because nuclear plants run at a much higher effective capacity than wind farms). This capacity would provide a very significant, much-needed resource for the New York electrical grid, and would go a long way toward taking pressure off existing resources. The hope is that this would enable some of the most polluting energy sources to be duly retired, shifting the balance of electrical supply towards sources that are sustainable and non-polluting. Of course, to completely shift to clean sources, much more clean energy capacity must be constructed, but this is a critical first step.
The project area would be an area of about 150 square miles located about 25 miles south of the Long Island coast and 25 miles east of New Jersey:
This location was chosen for several purposes. The particular distance from shore was chosen to place the entire array so that it will be obscured by the curvature of the Earth from view from any landmass. Many an offshore wind project has died owing to aesthetic objection from coastal residents, so the siting was very carefully placed so as to avoid any such objections. The shape of the field is also significant: the wedge shape allows it to sit snugly between two important shipping lanes without obstructing marine traffic.
One of the potential problems with our chosen location is ocean depth. Though the proposed site is well within the limits of the continental shelf, even at 25 miles from shore, depths in this area are still barely within the limits of those with which traditional bottom-mounted offshore turbines can employed (depths range from 100 to 200 feet in the area). Fortunately, there exists a technology which could be employed should the waters prove too deep for our intended purposes: floating wind turbines. While so far in the offshore wind sector all turbines have been solidly affixed to the ocean floor (usually standing on a solid pier which reaches to the bottom), floating wind turbines, where the turbine floats on its own buoyant structure and is merely tethered to the ocean floor with cables, are currently working their way to commercialization. If this sort of structure were to be used, it would alleviate any concerns about ocean depth in the proposed project location, if the said location should prove to be too deep for traditional mounting.
There is, of course, the question of who, exactly, will fund, construct, and operate the wind farm. Broadly speaking, there are two potential paths:
Private construction and operation
In this scenario, a private group would pay for the construction of the wind farm out of their own capital, in the expectation that the operation of the plant and the selling of the electricity generated would eventually pay off the constructon cost and earn the company a profit.
Government construction and operation
Here, the project would be under the purview of a public-benefit corporation such as the MTA. This way, the project could receive funding from various sources (to be discussed more later) and would not depend upon being immediately lucratively profitable for its survival.
We propose employing the government option, for the following reasons:
1) Stability– In a project this large, complex, and unprecedented, it is absolutely critical that the agency which heads it is able to see it through good financial times and bad, without panicking or getting cold feet once the going gets rough. This project will have problems and cost overruns; it is guaranteed. Whoever is in charge needs to be able to have the ability to weather a 300% cost overrun without jumping ship.
2) Bureaucracy – Governmental authorities have a much greater ability to break through the bureaucracy present in other parts of the government. The Norwegian company Statoil recently abandoned an effort to bring offshore wind power to Maine when regulatory hurdles seemed as though they were becoming too much to bear. Authorities like the MTA have a much greater bargaining capability when it comes to dealing with these sorts of things.
3) Ethics – It’s questionable how ethical it would be to give a private corporation exclusive rights to an irreplaceable infrastructure project in public waters, done for the public good. There’s something wrong about attempting to involve the “free market” in a situation where there is in fact no choice and no market. There would be no was for electric customers to drop the private power provider if the customers were unhappy with the service provided, and there is almost no other location in New York on which a “competing” project could be built. Competition in this case is neither desirable nor particularly possible. Private operation would be pointless.
So, for the above reasons, and for others, we propose that the New York Power Authority (NYPA) be placed in charge of the construction, ownership, and operation of the wind farm. The NYPA already is the owner and operator of almost all of New York’s hydroelectric resources, meaning it is highly experienced in owning and maintaining generation infrastructure, as well as in distributing electricity to customers. That experience, combined with its power as a public authority to issue debt on itsown behalf, make it the ideal vehicle through which to carry out our proposal.
