Change is in the Air

Staten Island Poised for Offshore Wind Development

Staten Island’s Future Starts Now

An environmentally sound economic boon is set to blow into Staten Island’s future in the form of wind energy.

With Staten Island’s 115 miles of waterfront and its prime location with easy access to the bight, the borough is uniquely positioned to support services related to wind energy.

One of several locations on Staten Island that are considered prime real estate for offshore wind energy development is the Arthur Kill Terminal, a 32-acre waterfront property near the Outerbridge Crossing into New Jersey. Atlantic Offshore Terminals (AOT) is a company in the process of acquiring the area to revamp it into a port facility suitable for supporting wind-energy development. 

Boone Davis, president and CEO of AOT, explained why the terminal, located in the borough’s South Shore, is a great location to support industry growth. 

“Arthur Kill Terminal—and Staten Island more generally—is a place with a really strong maritime history and there are substantial waterfront industrial properties and ports that could be adapted to support offshore wind development,” Davis said. 

So, what else makes the borough’s South and West Shore so great when it comes to wind-energy development? Its large size and space. Wind turbines are huge—taller than the Statue of Liberty. Even the blades are enormous. One blade can measure the length of a football field. 

Arthur Kill Terminal is also waterfront, providing easy access into the bight. Another plus is that there are no bridges to navigate under, which is something else to consider when building a port like this.

“You really need to have very purpose-built ports that meet very rigorous requirements just given how large and heavy offshore wind components are and given the types of vessels used to install the wind turbines,” Davis said. “We’re focused entirely on building those port facilities where this work can occur. We’ll have tenants that are associated with the wind farm companies. They’ll come in, lease the port, and do all the installation work.”

AOT plans to start construction in the fall of 2023. For many potential tenants, that date can’t come fast enough.

“There are a lot of offshore wind farms right now that are under development up and down the East Coast, but there currently isn’t enough port capacity to support them all,” Davis said. “There’s a concerted focus right now by the city, state, and federal government and the industry to build very smart and strategic ports that would support the industry. And to build vessels, factories, and everything else that goes behind it. Everyone’s interest is to see these jobs be created both locally and domestically. Ports are the key to all that.”

“It’s a tremendous economic opportunity. Most of the construction and operations jobs associated with offshore wind occur necessarily in ports. So it’s very important to have and otherwise build the required port infrastructure if you want to be a player in the jobs that come with the industry,” Davis said. 

Wind-energy development on Staten Island supports NYS Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels while boosting economic development. Earlier this year, she announced a $500 million investment in offshore wind manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure. 

“With this investment, New York will lead the nation on offshore wind production, creating green jobs for New Yorkers, and powering our clean energy future,” Hochul said. “I am proud to make New York a leader in offshore wind and renewable energy. We must harness the potential of offshore wind to fuel our economy forward and meet our ambitious climate goals.”

New York City Council Member Joe Borelli, who represents District 51 where the Arthur Kill Terminal is located, supports wind energy projects on Staten Island. “We need wind energy not in lieu of some other source of power. As our energy consumption rises dramatically every year, we need wind, nuclear and hydro, and natural gas fired plants. That’s just the reality,” Borelli said. “Wind is a great long-term solution, and the geography of Staten Island—its situation at the mouth of essentially the Hudson River and the confluence of the New York Bight—makes us uniquely poised for this purpose.”

NorthPoint Development, a Missouri-based industrial development company, also owns property on the island’s South Shore that is being prepped for sale and/or lease by wind-related industries, underscoring the industry’s growth in and around New York. 

Borelli added that another benefit for Staten Island is that developing this part of the South Shore to support wind energy won’t add to the borough’s congested streets. Development will be on waterfront infrastructure, rather than the land-based road network.