Posted on December 13, 2022
New York City is continuing its efforts to develop port facilities that would be used to support the emerging offshore wind energy sector. In the latest development, the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has awarded a conditional designation as developer to NorthPoint Development for a site located on the west side of Staten Island. It would be transformed into a staging site for the assembly of wind turbine components.
Known as the Rossville Municipal Site, the property has been owned by New York City since 1990 and is currently overgrown and abandoned. It includes approximately 2,000 linear feet of shoreline along the federally maintained Arthur Kill Channel. It also has a pier that was built but never used for LNG carriers. Adjacent to the city site is a privately owned property that has two large, abandoned LNG storage tanks.
According to the EDC, the site represents a significant opportunity as one of the few remaining industrial waterfront properties available and suitable for waterfront-dependent industrial uses in the region. NYCEDC released a request for proposal in March 2022 for the redevelopment of the site for offshore wind-related activities. The city said it would favor projects with a particular focus on water-dependent manufacturing, as well as other offshore wind-related uses. They suggested in the RFP that the site could be used for operations and maintenance, interconnection, marshalling, and/or staging and assembly.
“Today’s announcements represent important milestones in our efforts to make New York City a leading destination for the rapidly growing offshore wind industry, and the central role that Staten Island plays in that,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development, Maria Torres-Springer. “We look forward to working with our partners to transform Staten Island’s west shore into a hub of maritime and manufacturing activity for the industry and arm local talent – and our young people in particular – with the resources and experience they need to jumpstart their careers in this industry and the broader green economy.”
The proposal from NorthPoint Development calls for transforming the 33-acre city-owned waterfront industrial property in Staten Island into a state-of-the-art offshore wind port facility. They propose that it is well suited for manufacturing and assembling wind turbine components and would create a jobs center on the waterfront with an emphasis on good-paying manufacturing and industrial jobs.
“The offshore wind industry is poised to revitalize Staten Island’s maritime industry in ways we have not seen since the nineteenth century. It’s hard to imagine any other scenario where massive global players are breaking down the door to make generational capital investments on our West Shore waterfront,” said Councilmember Joseph Borelli. “In the near future, when we see nacelles, blades, or cables leaving this pier on barges.”
To support the development of the wind industry, they also announced $566,000 in state funding to help train professionals for offshore wind careers. The College of Staten Island will receive the state funds to enhance three existing labs including a geology teaching lab, a power systems lab, and an applied mechanics lab and will build a renewable energy systems lab.
The Rossville project would be the latest in a series of waterfront properties designated for the offshore wind sector. Also on the southwest side of Staten Island, a 32-acre privately owned parcel has been proposed to be developed as the Arthur Kill Terminal for the wind sector. Atlantic Offshore Terminals presented a plan to develop the site which is especially attractive as it is beyond all the bridges in the region meaning it has clear access to the Atlantic Ocean.
The city of New York unveiled a 15-year, $191 million offshore wind vision plan In September 2022, to make New York a leading destination for the industry. NYCEDC is prepared to allocate up to $70 million of that investment in infrastructure on the Rossville site.
Last March, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced an agreement to transform the city-owned South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into one of the largest offshore wind port facilities in the nation. Currently, five offshore wind projects are in active development, which will power more than 2.4 million New York homes. New York City has set a goal of developing offshore wind infrastructure across the five boroughs through NYC sites and infrastructure supporting the construction of 12 GW of offshore wind energy.
