Another Offshore Wind Project on the Horizon

There's another newcomer to the offshore wind scene in the United States - this time in upstate New York on Lake Ontario as described here in "Company proposes windmill for Lake Ontario," Newsday.com, February 20, 2003. The article reports that the project is off to a good start, with plenty of community support and a state policy promoting renewable development:

Braginton-Smith has already begun the site approval process. Last week, he met with members of the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the breakwater.
Lake Ontario can bring as much as 250 inches of snow to Oswego annually. Those winds, combined with the county's existing electricity transmission infrastructure, make it an ideal location for wind energy production, Braginton-Smith said. Oswego County is already home to three nuclear plants. "They were all very excited and were very supportive of the concept," Braginton-Smith said. "There was a general consensus that this shouldn't have any serious obstacles in front of it." Assuming the approval process continues smoothly, the only major hurdle is to gather the $6 million to $7 million needed to erect the first two turbines. Braginton-Smith said he is not worried about financing. In his recent state of the state address, Gov. George Pataki announced a policy of supporting renewable energy projects. By 2013, he wants 25 percent of all electricity produced in the state to come from renewable sources. That would require at least 2,000 megawatts of new capacity from wind, solar or other renewable sources, according to Tom Collins, spokesman for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

We'll be monitoring this process to assess whether this offshore wind project might provide a blue rint for future projects to follow.