In the News: LIPA Wind Farm Cost Too Steep

A recent report by Dowling College outlined "excessive" construction costs for the proposed offshore wind farm south of Long Island and suggested that the Long Island Power Authority build the project itself and save taxpayers nearly $100 million. The analysis brings into question the costs and benefits of alternative energy as we transition from a strictly petroleum-based economy. Certainly, the costs of exploring new technologies will be high initially, but as these projects become more common the up front investment will lower. We just need to make sure that LIPA and others keep sound economics in mind...JB

Image: Danish Wind Turbines from Wikipedia

By Mark Harrington
April 2, 2007

The proposal to build a 40-turbine wind farm off the South Shore would enrich its contractor with "extraordinary" returns while "saddling" Long Island ratepayers with a 20-year-plus contract for energy at "excessive" prices, a new study of the project's economics has found.

Scheduled to be released this week, the study, by the Long Island Economic & Social Policy Institute at Dowling College, questions the initial $356-million construction cost of the project and suggests LIPA explore the alternative of funding and building the wind farm itself, which it says would be cheaper.

"Wind energy makes sense for Long Island, but this contract does not," said the study's author, Mark Greer, a professor of economics at Dowling.

Read more...
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-bzlipa0402,0,2894107.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines

Long Island Economic & Social Policy Institute at Dowling College on Wind Farm
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-bzwind0403-pdf,0,6973532.acrobat?coll=ny-linews-headlines

LIPA Offshore Wind Project Information
http://www.lipower.org/cei/offshore.html


Wind Farm on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farm