In response to a Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) request for proposals for new sources of renewable energy, developer Deepwater Wind is submitting an offer to supply Long Island with more than 200 MW from its Deepwater ONE project – an offshore wind farm planned approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, N.Y.
In July 2013, Deepwater Wind won a 30-year lease to develop the Deepwater ONE project in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's first-ever competitive lease auction for offshore wind covered two parcels, totaling approximately 256 square miles, off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Originally named the Deepwater Wind Energy Center, the Deepwater ONE project is planned to be up to 1 GW.
As part of its RFP submission, the developer proposes delivering power to an existing LIPA-owned substation on the South Fork. Deepwater says project construction could begin as early as 2017, with commercial operations by 2018.
The developer has designed its Deepwater ONE project using the same technology as its demonstration-scale Block Island Wind Farm. The company has begun construction on the 30 MW pilot project, located about three miles off the coast of Block Island, R.I. Project permits are currently under review by state and federal agencies. According to Deepwater, that project remains on target to be operational in 2016.
