Tag: new york energy policy

Does wind energy have a future on Long Island?

That was the question Matt Cohen, the president and CEO of the Long Island Association,  posed at the organization’s State of the Region breakfast at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury on Friday.

About 1,200 local leaders gathered for the annual event, which included a discussion moderated by Cohen with New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine.

When it comes to generating energy, the LIA, Cohen said, supports an “all of the above approach,” which, according to the organization’s priorities, includes investing in clean energy transition.

The dialog comes just days after Empire Wind filed a lawsuit to allow its construction to continue once the Trump administration suspended its $5 billion wind power project off Long Island.

At the breakfast, Cohen asked Blakeman, who has the support of President Donald Trump, about his position on the stop-work orders.

“Residents of Nassau County do not want offshore wind turbines – they made that very clear,” Blakeman said. “We have a very robust commercial fishing industry. We have … one of the largest recreational boating communities in the United States. We have seen damage to marine life and [wind energy] is the most expensive form of energy generation.”

Still, Blakeman said, “I agree with the LIA. I think we should have an all of the above attitude toward cheap energy generation.” Blakeman pointed to the southern tier of New York “that has one of the largest deposits of natural gas in the United States,” and tapping into that, he said, “would make gas cheaper for all of us.”

As for Suffolk, “there is a future to finish Sunrise Wind,” Romaine said to a round of applause in the room. Sunrise Wind, which is 70 percent completed, he said, would supply wind from Montauk to Brookhaven Town.

Romaine pointed to the South Fork Wind Farm, which was “an extremely controversial project,” but “it got done, it’s producing power. Sunrise Wind is not controversial at all.” Still, he said, upon completion, he would “see how it affects the ocean.”

Romaine said he is working with Long Island Power Authority to tap into solar energy, especially at the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge, and other industrial parks. “Imagine all those flat roofs” tapping into solar, he said, adding that he was working to announce a program that would provide incentives to adapt solar energy.

Still, he said, the region needs “all of the above. We have an energy deficit, and artificial intelligence is going to make a huge drain on our energy future. We want to be on the cutting edge. We need energy in all sources.”

Blakeman said that Empire Wind wouldn’t benefit the local community the way Sunrise Wind would. Also, he said he wasn’t against wind energy, and added that “there are many communities upstate that will welcome wind energy and wind farms.”

DiNapoli said that the emphasis on the region’s “growing energy needs” are absolutely on target.

Still he said, “Suffolk County was number one in the state” in a recent report on the regions that are vulnerable to severe weather incidents.

Climate change, he said, “is real,” and the region does need to “get off the reliance on fossil fuel.”

He added that leaders must “stay focused on that energy transition – it’s absolutely essential.”

Additional panel topics included further discussion about infrastructure, the environment, housing, education and affordability.

The breakfast also included opening remarks from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and closing remarks from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Hochul announced a five-year $3.75 billion commitment to support the state’s water infrastructure as part of her 2026 legislative agenda.

Both Hochul, a Democrat, and Blakeman, a Republican, are running for governor this year.

The morning started with the National Anthem sung by Jillian Cerrato, a 12 year-old who attends Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts.