The Biden government authorized proposals for a large wind power plant to supply power to New York on Wednesday. The permission for the building of cluster generators off Rhode Island is a significant step toward the administration’s goal of attaining 30 gigatonnes of offshore wind-generating capability in US seas by 2030, enough to provide electricity to more than 10 million households. Offshore wind is seen as a critical instrument in helping the White House accomplish its aim of 100% carbon-free energy goals by 2035, as part of a larger commitment to combatting climate change. According to the Washington Post, the 130-megawatt South Fork Wind farm would be the first wind farm to offer power to New York, transporting electricity to Long Island.
According to the Interior Department, the initiative would “generate around 340 jobs and produce enough electricity for approximately 70,000 dwellings.” The South Fork Wind program is the Biden government’s second commercial-scale offshore wind field, following the Vineyard Windfarm, which is now under development off the shore of Massachusetts. By 2025, the Biden government intends to locate and lease federal seas as well as seven coastal regions to offshore wind generating producers. Officials must overcome environmentalists’ reservations regarding the wind farms’ impact on threatened whales, commercial fishing worries regarding their harvest, and coastal homeowners’ misgivings regarding their views on the ocean.
Nevertheless, a USD 1.75 trillion in public investments, and climate measures enacted by House of Democrats earlier this month, which contains more than USD 300 billion in green power tax breaks for projects such as wind turbine construction, has an unclear future in the Senate. Modifications to the bill are inevitable, according to Axios’ Ben Geman, who writes that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVa.) is among those who have expressed worries about some provisions of the bill. According to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, there is “no time to spare in creating and investing in a sustainable energy economy that will support us for centuries.” “There were no large-scale offshore wind projects permitted in US federal seas only a year ago. There are currently 2 in operation, with numerous more on the way,” she continued.
In a statement, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) noted that the government is “confronting the issues of climate change head-on” with such measures. “Our nation-leading environmental as well as offshore wind objectives necessitate radical action, and progressing South Fork Winds bring us closer to a green and clean tomorrow,” she added.
