US-based energy assets company Rise Light & Power has unveiled a new offshore wind transmission project, dubbed Queensboro Renewable Express (Queensboro).
Queensboro is designed to bring renewable energy to Queens and replace existing fossil fuel generation, to help New York State achieve its climate goals.
The move follows the company’s Renewable Ravenswood vision project, which aims to convert the Ravenswood facility from a fossil fuel power plant to a renewable energy hub.
Also, it follows New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement for the state’s third offshore wind solicitation, targeting at least 2GW of offshore wind energy.
Rise said that Queensboro has been designed as an advanced solution to enable cost-effective delivery of energy from the Atlantic Ocean to consumers.
Backed by years of surveys and engineering work, Queensboro offers superior project maturity for interconnecting offshore wind in New York Harbour, said the company.
Rise Light & Power chief executive officer Clint Plummer said: “As home to New York City’s largest power generator, there are countless reasons to interconnect gigawatts of new offshore wind energy at the Ravenswood site.
“We can leverage our existing infrastructure and waterfront location to deliver a low-cost, low-risk offshore wind transmission system.
“Queensboro Renewable Express, as part of the larger Renewable Ravenswood vision, is designed in partnership with our neighbours and community, and we are excited to make it a reality.”
The company has been developing the Queensboro project for more than two years.
It has completed 255 miles (410km) of geophysical surveys in New York Harbour to select the safe and effective location for buried, submarine, HVDC cables.
Through multiple sets of transmission cables, the project will deliver up to 3.9GW of offshore wind power from the Atlantic Ocean to Queens.
It transmits the power through Verrazano Narrows, Upper New York Bay, and East River to the Ravenswood site, avoiding beaches, public streets, or other property, said Rise.
Ravenswood is a 27-acre waterfront industrial site in Queens, and the project will leverage existing infrastructure to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Furthermore, Queensboro will permanently replace 1960’s legacy fossil fuel generation capacity and provide continued employment for Ravenswood’s union workforce, said Rise.
