September 19, 2019 — New York State is “watching closely” the federal government’s decision to stall a Massachusetts offshore wind project to review environmental and fishing impacts, a top state official said Wednesday, adding there’s no sign yet that the scrutiny will affect New York’s ambitious offshore wind plans.
“That concern does exist,” Alicia Barton, president and chief executive of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, told business leaders at a Long Island Association meeting in Melville Wednesday. She called the federal review a “significant setback” in the permitting schedule for that project, called Vineyard Wind.
Vineyard Wind in August said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the federal Bureau of Energy Management’s decision to scrutinize the “cumulative impacts [of offshore wind] driven by rapid growth of the industry beyond our project.”
For now, Barton said she had “no reason to believe” New York projects, which are slated to be in service in 2024, would be affected by the federal review. Nor does it appear to delay her expectation that additional leasing areas off New York will be offered by the federal government soon.