East Hampton Green Lights 2 South Fork Wind Farm Agreements

EAST HAMPTON, NY — After years of discussion and deliberation, the East Hampton town board, in a majority vote, approved two agreements with South Fork Wind, LLC, advancing a proposal to build a 15-turbine wind farm in federal waters 30 miles east of Montauk Point.

In his State of the State last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said as New Yorkers focus on reconstruction after waging a battle against the coronavirus, the focus is on a green economy. And on Long Island, those plans include the two largest offshore wind projects in the nation, 60 miles offshore from Montauk and 20 miles off Jones Beach, Cuomo said. Training for new, green jobs is slated to take place right on Long Island, Cuomo added.

During the third of his 2021 State of the State addresses, Cuomo talked about a focus on a new green energy program that will create 12,400 megawatts of green energy, power 6 million homes, create, more than 50,000 jobs, and kickstart $39 billion in private investment.

According to East Hampton officials, the project off Montauk will be the first offshore wind farm in New York State, a flagship for the state’s focused sustainable energy efforts — and represents a "significant step" for the town toward its goal of meeting 100 percent of community-wide electricity consumption with renewable energy sources.

An easement agreement between East Hampton Town and South Fork Wind, formerly known as Deepwater Wind, will allow the underground installation in town rights-of-way of the onshore portion of a 132-megawatt electrical transmission cable, from the proposed cable landing site at Beach Lane in Wainscott to a PSEG-LI/ Long Island Power Authority substation at Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton, a release said.

A host community agreement will yield almost $29 million in payments over 25 years to the town and the East Hampton trustees to benefit the community and residents, officials said.

Both agreements will take effect only upon approval of the project by the New York State Public Service Commission and federal reviewing agencies.

“Today, by approving these agreements, I vote 'yes' to advancing our commitment to renewable energy and continuing East Hampton’s long tradition of leadership in protecting the environment,” said East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc.

Van Scoyoc added that the project has undergone an “extremely robust review” and discussion by more than 70 organizations, community groups, and individuals, as well as the Public Service Commission review and settlement proceedings. The project has also been the subject of two dozen town board and trustee meetings over more than four years, he said.

Negotiations resulted in a "significant increase" in the originally proposed $8.4 million value of the community benefits package, Van Scoyoc said.

The proposed agreements were finalized and released to the public for comment on December 14, 2020, and a January 12 board work session was set aside to allow public comments on the agreements to be made directly to the board, the supervisor said.

“We have taken the necessary time to carefully review and consider all comments received,“ Van Scoyoc said.

The board weighed in regarding the vote.

“We don’t have to look far to see the results of the climate crisis right here in our community. Storms are becoming more likely, more dangerous and more costly — claiming our shoreline, flooding our roadways and challenging our infrastructure,” said Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. “We need urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and speed the shift to renewable energies like solar and wind. I see no reason to delay. I am more than satisfied with the exhaustive review that has taken place.”

“I am proud to approve this,” said Councilwoman Sylvia Overby. The agreements regarding the wind farm have “a special meaning to this town and its citizens,” she said, “as we are leaders in reducing climate impact. We are leaders as we write the process for other communities to follow.”

She added that residents of Wainscott, especially those who may be inconvenienced during the cable installation, “asked the hard questions” that resulted in improvements to the terms of the agreements.

“I believe that offshore wind, commercial fisheries, and other ocean users are capable of coexisting,” said Councilman David Lys.“We need to come together as a whole to protect East Hampton’s future, and the environment of the planet.”

Environmental advocates and organizations have voiced support for the wind farm, a joint project of the Danish company Orsted, and Eversource Energy, based in Boston. Over the years, fishermen have raised questions and some objections to the plans.

The easement agreement, which is subject to a permissive referendum, includes specific conditions regarding how the transmission cable is installed, maintained, repaired, and decommissioned in accordance with requirements to protect and preserve natural and historical resources, and to ensure the public’s safety and quality of life during the placement and operation of the cable, the town said.

Councilman Jeff Bragman voted against the easement agreement and abstained from the vote on the host community benefits agreement, the town said.

This article originally appeared on the East Hampton Patch