Five Great Lakes Offshore Wind Projects Under Review by New York Power Authority

The New York Power Authorityon Friday said it has started a multi-phase review of five proposals for wind power projects in state waters on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. “Today the Power Authority begins a rigorous, multi-disciplinary review process for the five GLOW proposals that aim to construct an offshore wind project with the promise to deliver the one-two punch of generating clean renewable power while boosting the economy with clean energy jobs,” said Richard M. Kessel, president and chief executive officer, NYPA. “There is much work to be done before any project can be built and once NYPA’s initial review phase is complete, there will be significant opportunities for community participation in the next phases of the evaluation process.”

During the NYPA initial review phase, the proposals are evaluated by a team of NYPA staff and its consultant specialists to determine which of the proposals best meets the requirements set forth in the NYPA Request for Proposals, for construction of the GLOW project, which was issued on Dec. 1, 2009. This is expected to take about six to seven months. Under procurement law, NYPA may not share information on any proposal during the NYPA initial review. The NYPA initial review is expected to result in the staff recommendation of a preferred developer(s).

The next phase is scheduled to take place in late 2010 or early 2011 when the NYPA Trustees will evaluate the staff recommendations and select a preferred developer(s) pending successful contract negotiations, completion of all regulatory and environmental reviews, and incorporation of community input. Upon the action by the Trustees, information on the proposal(s) by the preferred developers(s), which is not proprietary or covered by confidentially agreements, will be made public on the NYPA Web site.  

At this point, the preferred developer(s) will begin their efforts to meet the thorough regulatory and environmental reviews which will have expanded opportunities for public input beyond what is required for those reviews.  

After successful completion of the regulatory and environmental reviews and incorporation of community input, estimated to total about two years, a contract(s) for a purchase power agreement(s) can then be signed between NYPA and the preferred developer(s). Construction can begin with project operation anticipated in two to three years following contract signing.

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Posted by admin on Jun 7 2010. Filed under Latest Ocean News, Ocean Power Technologies & Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.