Chicago-based Invenergy has announced plans to develop a 700 MW-plus portfolio of wind and solar farms designed to deliver renewable energy to Long Island, N.Y.
Collectively called the Clean Energy Link, the proposed project will consist of four new wind farms totaling 478 MW and two new solar farms totaling 223 MW. They will be located within the 12-state PJM regional power market.
In a press release, Invenergy says the renewable energy projects will be built across more than 55,000 acres in rural areas in multiple states. The company says the power will be delivered to Long Island from PJM via a new buried HVDC transmission line, ending at a net-zero converter station on Long Island. According to the Clean Energy Link website, Invenergy has partnered with Anbaric, a Boston-based electricity infrastructure company, on the project.
Invenergy claims this portfolio approach provides economies of scale and diversification in technology and geography in order to deliver residents of Long Island reliable, renewable power at the lowest cost possible. The company says it is offering the Clean Energy Link in response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 50% by 2030 clean energy standard for New York, and the project could serve as a major step in meeting that statewide goal by tripling Long Island’s renewable resources portfolio.
“Pairing renewable energy with new dedicated transmission will bring low-cost wind and solar energy to where it is needed in densely populated areas, such as Long Island and New England,” explained Michael Polsky, Invenergy’s founder and CEO.
“Long Island has never had an opportunity like the Clean Energy Link,” added Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “In a single stroke, the Clean Energy Link will more than triple the green energy supply to Long Island. It’s a big step forward for Long Island and means we can stop talking about meeting the governor’s 50 by 30 and begin actually achieving it.”
