The proposed Beacon Wind I project drew unanimous public support Tuesday during public hearings on the transmission line needed for the 1,230-MW wind farm planned off the New York coast.

The New York Public Service Commission held virtual comment sessions as part of its review process for the certificate of environmental compatibility and public need the developers must secure.

Many other state and federal approvals are needed before Equinor and BP can begin construction in 2025 in a 128,000-acre tract of ocean 60 miles east of the southeastern tip of Long Island.

Tuesday’s hearings officially centered on the 115-mile underwater export cable running the length of Long Island Sound, plus a short overland cable and substation where it will make landfall in Astoria, Queens, in the northwestern corner of Long Island.

But everyone who spoke — activists, residents with no stated affiliation, business owners, and elected, union and neighborhood leaders — was in favor not just of permitting the cable but the entire project, and offshore wind in general.

The written comments submitted to the PSC were similarly supportive.

The level of public support for zero-emission wind power in and near the Astoria neighborhood is not surprising; the area has been dubbed Asthma Alley for its concentration of fossil fuel power facilities, past and present.

A subsidiary of NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) had initially proposed to refurbish the Astoria Generating Station, a 558-MW peaker plant, prompting vigorous protests from neighborhood and climate activists.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation rejected a plan to install a new 437-MW turbine generator on-site, saying it would not meet the emissions limits set in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

So instead, Astoria Gas Turbine Power opted to sell the site to Beacon Wind Land and demolish the power station.

Equinor told RTO Insider via email Tuesday that the purchase of part of the complex is complete, and the developers would share more of their plans for the site in coming weeks.

Among the speakers Tuesday:

• Casey Petrashek of the New York League of Conservation Voters said: “Beacon Wind I will bring significant environmental and economic benefits to New Yorkers.”
• Kayli Kunkel, founder of the Earth and Me ecologically themed stores in Queens, said: “Clean, renewable energy and air and water quality are rights that we deserve as New Yorkers, and considering the diverse makeup of our borough, this is also an environmental and racial justice issue.”
• Edwin Hill Jr., of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said the union appreciates Equinor’s commitment to organized labor on the project. “Equinor has made a significant commitment of $52 million in social investments in New York state,” he added.
• Fred Zalcman, director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, urged the PSC to grant the certificate of compliance and need. “The Beacon Wind project is a critical component of New York’s nation-leading effort to power its economy based entirely on clean, renewable and carbon-free energy resources.”
• Marc Schmied, a volunteer with 350Brooklyn.org, contrasted the impact of constructing offshore wind farms with that of continued reliance on fossil fuel. “I understand and respect the concerns of both the local residents and the commercial fishermen who will be temporarily inconvenienced by the construction of Beacon Wind’s transmission line,” he said. “Offshore wind is by far the lesser of two evils here.”
• State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who represents Astoria, said: “Our neighborhood has been on the front lines of the climate crisis but also on the front lines of fighting back, and last year we successfully beat back NRG’s proposal to build a fracked gas power plant, and the approval of this permit will ensure that very same site that the plant would have been built will instead become an interconnection site.”
• Richard Khuzami, representing the Old Astoria Neighborhood Association, said: “The Astoria waterfront, home to three major [public housing complexes] has long been afflicted by increased rates of asthma and other environmentally related afflictions, and this project will have a direct positive impact and improve quality of life.”

Innovation Hub

As the developers push through the regulatory process, they are also taking steps to set up a supply chain, with construction of a tower manufacturing facility on the Hudson River in upstate New York and construction/support hub on the New York City waterfront.

Equinor and several partners on Tuesday announced the opening of the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub in Brooklyn, which will help startups develop innovation in the offshore wind industry.

In a news release Tuesday, Lyndie Hice-Dunton, executive director of the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, said:

“We are delighted to be a part of this exciting partnership. The Accelerator Program is a unique opportunity to help support innovative solutions for offshore wind in the U.S., as well as help build strategic partnerships within this growing industry. We are looking forward to working with this outstanding group of leaders to achieve our mutual goal of accelerating offshore wind innovation.”