Clean energy developer and owner Invenergy has announced it will develop a 700 MW wind and solar project for Long Island, the largest ever renewable energy project proposed for the region.
Invenergy, which owns, develops, builds, and operates clean energy operations in Europe and North America, announced on Monday the 700 MW Clean Energy Link project for Long Island, which will consist of four new wind farms and two new solar farms located within the 12-state PJM regional power market, and intended solely for Long Island.
Upon completion, Clean Energy Link will triple Long Island’s renewable energy portfolio, and move Nassau and Suffolk from 3% in 2015 to 10% upon completion in 2020.
Clean Energy Link, however, will not be built in Long Island, but rather in multiple states around the country, making use of rural areas where land is both less expensive and more readily available, and delivered to Long Island by way of a new buried HVDC transmission line, terminating at a net-zero converter station on Long Island itself.
“Long Island has never had an opportunity like the Clean Energy Link,” said Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “In a single stroke, the Clean Energy Link will more than triple the green energy supply to Long Island. It’s a big step forward for Long Island and means we can stop talking about meeting the Governor’s 50 by 30 and begin actually achieving it.”
“Long Island is determined to protect our environment, and Governor Cuomo’s 50 by 30 mandate is the vehicle that ensures innovative methods for securing renewable energy is a part of the equation,” added Assemblyman Steve Englebright. “Long Islanders have long sought clean energy via wind and solar projects, but the proposal by Invenergy allows us to make a significant step forward without sacrificing open space as a consequence.”
