By Christopher Martin

(Bloomberg) — The Long Island Power Authority plans to approve a 90 megawatt wind farm off the coast of New York that might develop into the most important within the U.S. when accomplished.

Deepwater Wind LLC was chosen to put in 15 offshore generators about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk for a undertaking that the utility’s board expects to approve at a gathering on July 20, stated Sid Nathan, a spokesman for the state-owned utility, which is operated by Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.

Offshore wind has been slower to advance within the U.S. than in Europe partly due to its greater prices and the prevalence of open land for cheaper websites onshore. Opposition from coastal communities has additionally held up initiatives together with Cape Wind Associates LLC’s long-delayed 468-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts.

“This is the first step to developing the tremendous offshore wind resource off Long Island,” Nathan stated in an interview Thursday. “It will be Long Island’s contribution to meeting Governor Cuomo’s ambitious plan to reach 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.”

Terms haven’t but been decided, he stated. The plan to construct the offshore wind farm was first reported by the Associated Press, citing an interview with LIPA Chief Executive Officer Thomas Falcone. An settlement on pricing could also be reached early subsequent yr and the wind farm might be accomplished as early as 2022.

Europe’s Lead

More than 90 p.c of the world’s offshore wind capability is put in in northern Europe, in line with the Global Wind Energy Council. About 12 gigawatts of offshore wind was in service on the finish of 2015, simply 3 p.c of the world’s complete put in wind vitality.

Deepwater Wind is constructing the primary U.S. offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, a 30-megawatt undertaking that’s anticipated to provide energy later this yr. CEO Jeffrey Grybowski expects to see extra U.S. offshore energy vegetation within the coming years.

“There’s real momentum for offshore wind in the United States,” he stated in an e-mailed assertion.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P