More than 50 people gathered at Stony Brook University on Wednesday, October 6, to attend a presentation sponsored by the Marine Sciences Research Center (MSRC) on the Long Island Offshore Wind Initiative. A panel of five people outlined the tentative proposal to construct a wind farm off of Long Island’s South Shore and fielded many questions from the audience. While offshore wind energy has been used in Europe for many years, this would be the first of its kind in the United States.
The panel consisted of Kathleen Whitley and Bruce Humenik with Applied Energy Group, Inc., Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens Campaign for the environment, Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of Renewable Energy Long Island, and Michelle Nannen, a marine ecologist with Energy & Environmental Analysts, Inc. (EEA). Nannen, a 2001 M.S. graduate of MSRC, has been with EEA for the past three years. She authored a natural resources study on the South Shore of Long Island which, she noted, “was one of the many factors used in the siting of the project.”
The project proposes building approximately 40 wind turbines three to six miles south of Robert Moses State Park. Due to the rising costs and finite resources of fossil fuels, Adrienne Esposito called for “diversifying (our) energy portfolio.” The project also coincides with New York State’s goal of providing 25% renewable energy by 2013.
While commending the project, MSRC Professor Brian Colle expressed concern for the projects long-term vision. Not only should Long Island lead the U.S. in implementing offshore wind power, Colle noted, “(we should also) lead the effort in thinking about the next step.”
For further information, go to the Long Island Offshore Wind Initiative web site at www.lioffshorewindenergy.org.
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