The federal government on Wednesday announced plans to lease more than 80,000 acres offshore New York for wind energy development. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the new wind energy area — located about 11 miles from Long Island — is based on a 2011 commercial wind lease application by the New York Power Authority. BOEM said it would complete an environmental assessment prior to moving forward with a competitive lease sale.
FuelFix notes that commercial-scale offshore wind energy has thus far failed to take off in the U.S. due to costs associated with shipping, corrosion and other factors. Offshore wind energy costs more than three times per kilowatt-hour than onshore wind, according to the Department of Energy.
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