Rise Light & Power proposes 3.9-GW offshore wind interconnection in NYC

Rise Light & Power today proposed an up-to-3.9-GW offshore wind transmission project that will not only bring renewable energy to Queens, New York City, but also replace gigawatts of existing fossil fuel generation capacity.

The new project is named Queensboro Renewable Express and is part of Rise’s previously announced plan to turn New York City’s largest fossil fuel power plant – the Ravenswood Generation Station in Long Island City – into a renewable energy hub.

The Queens-based company, a unit of LS Power, said in a statement that the Queensboro Renewable Express is a mature project for which Rise has already concluded years of surveys and engineering work. The idea is to use multiple sets of transmission cables to bring electricity generated by offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean, through the Verrazano Narrows, Upper New York Bay, and East River to the Ravenswood site in Queens.

Rise emphasised that in addition to resulting in the retirement of 1960s-era fossil fuels, Queensboro will also create job opportunities, leverage existing infrastructure to lower costs and improve efficiency, and will not disrupt the community or public space.

The proposal follows Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement of New York’s third offshore wind solicitation to procure at least 2 GW.

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