image courtesy Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
May 27, 2014. Today the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to create American jobs, develop domestic clean energy sources and cut carbon pollution, announced it will move forward with a competitive bid process to lease the designated Wind Energy area off Nassau County’s South Shore.
The area, at its smallest point, starts 11 miles off Long Beach, NY. It widens and moves away from that spot, to approximately 19 miles away(see map). This area will be just barely visible from shore on clear days. The turbines should appear shorter and many times less wide than the majority of tanker and cargo ships that continuously sit off Long Beach on any given day.
Due to multiple inquiries of interest to develop the wind farm, BOEM has opened up the area for competitive bidding and is seeking public input on two issues that may impact future wind development offshore New York:
1) a liquefied natural gas facility that has now been proposed to be located in this same area which had already been designated for wind power
And
2) existing commercial and recreational fishing activity in and around the region.
In editorial response to these issues, All Our Energy are already on record AGAINST the LNG port for a multitude of reasons. You can find that information here : Stop the LNG Port Off Our Shore from June 2013.
As far as affecting commercial and recreational fishing, check out New Jersey’s “Fisherman’s Energy“, a consortium of fishing interests trying to be the people to bring offshore wind to New Jersey (and may very well bid on this project ). They believe it is not only a “cash crop” for fisherman and right for the future of our energy generation, it would also help fishing as it creates an artificial reef that provides fish with habitat to foster greater abundance of fish. They say :”Fishermen’s Energy is a developer of offshore wind energy projects, founded by New Jersey commercial fishermen to respond to the public’s need to develop the ocean for renewable wind energy. Fishermen’s goal is to turn Atlantic coastal waters into an unmatched source of clean energy, while maintaining a vibrant commercial fishing industry.”
You can leave your comments for BOEM by clicking on this link
We believe properly sited, with environmental best practices used, through companies committed for the long term, with long term price assurances, this will be the best thing to happen to assure Long Island’s clean energy future.
