Assembly should vote yes on Long Beach wind cable

The Assembly returns to Albany this week with an opportunity to advance the lofty climate goals it helped set a few years ago.

By establishing markers for green energy that are rightly among the most aggressive in the country, and developing critical plans for offshore wind now in motion to meet those goals, the Assembly already has indicated where it stands. So, support for the Planned Offshore Wind Transmission Act — a clunky name for a bill that passed the State Senate earlier this month and would help New York reach its targets — should not be in question.

The bill would jump-start offshore wind development by allowing the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority to coordinate and plan individual projects, transmission efforts, and the interconnected offshore grid. The Assembly's failure to approve it could halt the progress of three planned offshore wind projects expected to generate 3.3 gigawatts of energy, create thousands of jobs, and move us toward a renewable future.

But the legislation's likelihood of passage has been muddied by the recent addition of provisions related to an offshore wind farm proposed off the coast of Long Beach. Equinor, the Norway-based company behind the project, would lay a transmission cable that comes ashore in Long Beach and stretches 3.3 miles to a substation in Island Park, where it would connect to the E.F. Barrett power plant. But because the beach is considered parkland, the state has to give the City of Long Beach its OK for a process known as alienation.

State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, who represents Long Beach, proposed a bill that would do just that, but put the brakes on it after hearing constituent concerns. Her bill language was then folded into the larger offshore wind bill, which awaits Assembly action this week.

By passing the bill, the State Legislature wouldn't decide anything for Long Beach, Island Park or neighboring communities. Instead, approval would move the process forward, while keeping the state focused on its fundamental energy goals. Decision-making would remain local. Negotiations with local officials regarding the landfall, the transmission cable's path, the substation's height and design, and more are ongoing. Full approvals aren't expected until late next year.

That means Equinor still has plenty of time to address community concerns and answer legitimate questions. The company should step up its efforts and show residents it is listening.

But local residents, too, need to understand that this project is much larger than a transmission line. Temporary construction will be inconvenient. Wind turbines might be visible in the distance. But South Shore residents, more than any on Long Island, have seen the impact of rising sea levels and warming waters. Their communities are under threat. Now, they can be an integral part of the solution.