A map outlining an area of consideration for the state’s offshore wind development, courtesy of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Photo Credit: Newsday / Gustavo Pabón

Mark Harrington reports for Newsday:


New York State today is to release an exhaustive master plan for offshore wind energy that foresees up to 5,000 people employed in and around a $6 billion industry by 2028, with annual health benefits from reduced emissions valued at up to $400 million.


The Cuomo administration plan also makes clear that while offshore wind representing 2,400 megawatts and hundreds of turbines will be in the waters south of Long Island, none is expected to be visible from shore. The state expects more than 1.2 million homes could be powered by offshore wind.


The 60-page report is accompanied by 20 supplemental studies representing more than two years of work and thousands of pages of analysis. The studies examine everything from viable ports to turbine manufacturing and wind-farm construction and staging to the need for cables, pipelines and other infrastructure, as well as the impact on birds, bats and fish.


The state determined that an area encompassing just over 1 million acres can accommodate wind turbines at least 21 miles from land to “ensure that, for the vast majority of the time, turbines would have no discernible or visible impact from the casual viewer on the shore.”


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