Originally published on CleanTechnica
by Joshua S Hill
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced last week, in the same speech where he pledged to back offshore wind, to award $360 million in funding to 11 separate large-scale renewable energy projects.
Last week we reported on Governor Cuomo’s State of the State speech, in which he committed the state of New York to acquire 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy by 2030. Governor Cuomo also gave immediate approval to a 90 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm set to be developed 30 miles southeast of Montauk by the same developer responsible for the country’s first offshore wind farm, Deepwater Wind.
The announcements were unsurprisingly well-received, as they committed New York to be one of the very few states currently making noticeable headway towards the development and acquisition of offshore wind energy — a severely under-utilized technology in the US.
However, Governor Cuomo didn’t ignore other renewable energy technologies in his State of the State speech, pledging $360 million in awards for 11 large-scale renewable energy projects throughout New York — including two wind farms, one utility-scale solar farm, seven hydro projects, and a fuel cell project.
The $360 million in awards for these projects are set to leverage almost $1 billion in private sector investment to secure the development of the projects which, together, will generate enough clean electricity to power more than 110,000 New York homes each year and reduce carbon emissions by more than 420,000 metric tonnes — the equivalent of taking 88,000 cars off the road.
The 11 large-scale renewable energy projects include:
Capital Region
- Hecate Energy Green County, Greene County: Hecate Energy LLC will build a 50 MW solar facility in Coxsackie.
Central New York
- Fulton Unit 1, Oswego County: Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, will install a new 890 kW high-flow turbine-generator at a hydroelectric facility in Oswego County.
- North Division Street Dam Hydroelectric Facility, Cayuga County: The City of Auburn will upgrade equipment, increase capacity and restore operation of the hydroelectric facility, resulting in a new capacity of 1.12 MW.
Mid-Hudson
- Swinging Bridge, Sullivan County: Eagle Creek Hydro Power LLC will add 0.85 MW to an existing hydroelectric facility in the town of Lumberland, resulting in a total installed capacity of more than 7 MW.
- Regen DG Project, Westchester County: Bloom Energy Corp. will install a 1.05 MW fuel cell at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Tarrytown.
Mohawk Valley
- Belfort Unit 3, Herkimer County: Brookfield Energy Marketing LP upgraded its existing facility in Beaver River with two modern high-efficiency runners, resulting in a total installed capacity of 2.4 MW.
North Country
- Number Three Wind Farm, Lewis County: Invenergy Wind Development LLC will build a 105.8 MW wind farm in the towns of Lowville, Harrisburg and Denmark.
- Glen Park, Jefferson County: Northbrook New York LLC, a subsidiary of Cube Hydro Partners, LLC: Upgraded equipment at existing hydroelectric facility, resulting in a total installed capacity of more than 32 MW.
- Tannery Island Hydro, Jefferson County: Ampersand Tannery Island Hydro LLC installed and upgraded new equipment resulting in a total installed capacity of more than 1.8 MW.
Southern Tier
- Eight Point Wind Energy Center, Steuben County: NextEra Energy Resources LLC will build a 101.2 MW wind farm in the towns of Greenwood, Troupsburg and West Union.
Western New York
- Burt Dam Incremental Hydro, Niagara County: Ampersand Olcott Harbor Hydro LLC recently upgraded equipment resulting in a total installed capacity of 600 kW.
“Large-scale renewables are a critical component in achieving Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading energy goals of 50% renewable power by 2030 and a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the same time,” said John Rhodes, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). “These projects will provide renewables, aggressively reduce emissions and make energy more affordable for New Yorkers.”
