New Yorkers would be forced to pay 2.5x market rate for wind energy from Empire Wind One offshore farm: expert
New Yorkers would be forced to pay 2.5 times the market rate for electricity generated by the Empire Wind One offshore wind farm if the deal goes through, according to an independent financial analysis.The Trump Administration paused construction of the controversial project — 54 turbines in the Atlantic Ocean some 14 miles south of Long Island — last week, saying it needs further review.The project has seen strong backing from Gov.
Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams.Trump’s move was welcomed by those who claim the project is going to overcharge taxpayers.“New Yorkers are entitled to clean, affordable, reliable energy,” Christina Kramer, president of Protect Our Coast Long Island New York, told The Post.“And this is none of those things.”The organization had requested analysis from Edward P.
O’Donnell, a New Jersey nuclear engineer and consultant who spent 35 years running nuclear plants.“Empire Wind One was awarded a contract to charge $155 a megawatt hour (MWH) for their power,” O’Donnell told The Post.“It’s a subsidy, because if you didn’t have Empire Wind One, the utilities would buy [power] from the wholesale market at about $50 a megawatt hour.”The total amount of the subsidy, O’Donnell said, would be $9 billion.
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), who manages the state’s power grid, is mandated to buy power generated by offshore wind over cheaper power from gas-fired or nuclear plants.The federal Inflation Reduction Act, signed by former President Joe Biden in 2022, also provides a 30% tax credit for offshore wind projects that begin construction before Jan.1, 2026, and additional credits are available for using US labor and building materials.“A company who is building an $8 billion offshore wind project — that’s what they’re costing — can get up to half of that refunded to them as a tax credit,” O’Donnell said.
“That’s on us, federal taxpayers throughout the country.We’re all footing th...