New offshore wind alliance eyes 5 GW in NY waters by 2030

Denmark’s Dong Energy (CPH:DENERG) and US company Deepwater Wind have joined a new coalition that aims to secure a commitment from New York state to develop some 5 GW of offshore wind power by 2030.

The coalition, called New York Offshore Wind Alliance (NYOWA), is a project of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY). It is guided by a Steering Committee which, in addition to Dong Energy and Deepwater Wind, includes representatives from the National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and the University of Delaware’s Special Initiative on Offshore Wind.

The main objective of the new alliance is to promote policies that will lead to the development of offshore wind projects off the coast of New York state. For the purpose, it will undertake both public education and advocacy to gain support.

“With a broad coalition such as NYOWA, we believe we can make that commitment happen by the beginning of 2017,” said Lisa Dix, senior New York representative of the Sierra Club.

Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director for community organisation UPROSE, in turn said that New York City’s largest significant maritime industrial area can be used to build an offshore wind industrial hub.

“By developing the world-class wind resources off the coast of Long Island and New York City, New York State can not only achieve the Governor’s laudable goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030 but also will help to defer the need to build costly new power plants or controversial new transmission lines,” said Jeff Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind.

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