A giant win for Staten Island: Proposed offshore wind business mission that can dismantle LNG tanks | Our Opinion

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Kansas Metropolis-based firm has proposed a plan to dismantle the LNG tanks – two long-time hulking eyesores seen from the West Shore Expressway – and on the similar time make the most of two Staten Island websites as viable items of the offshore wind provide chain.

And if this involves fruition, it’s a giant win for the borough.

The plan is for NorthPoint Growth to have interaction in a three way partnership with the proprietor of the Rossville property that comprises the LNG tanks, and use each that web site and the previous 240-acre Kinder Morgan Terminal location in Charleston for an offshore wind hub.

NorthPoint lately partnered with Michael Stamatis, president and CEO of Purple Hook Terminals, which has a lease on the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal that’s reworking into an offshore wind hub. The brand new Staten Island enterprise, he stated, presents an unprecedented alternative to bolster town’s presence within the business.

And we agree.

For too lengthy the LNG tanks — which had been constructed in 1976 and by no means crammed with the extremely explosive gasoline they had been constructed to carry — have been a blight on Staten Island. Through the years, there have been a wide range of plans for the way the tanks could be dismantled and what may exist there. The proposals vary from a self-sufficient spiritual group to a shopping center, movie show and park.

Whereas all these concepts have advantage for various causes, we imagine that having this web site develop into an necessary hyperlink in New York’s offshore wind business is by far the most suitable choice.

This plan would rid Staten Island of these mammoth tanks, and on the similar time enable the borough to develop into an necessary offshore wind hub that can create a whole lot of building and everlasting jobs.

NorthPoint Growth additionally gained a bid final week to increase its deliberate offshore wind operations to a 33-acre city-owned web site that sits straight adjoining to the LNG web site within the form of a crescent moon. Town beforehand issued a request for proposals for the land and stated it was prioritizing the positioning for offshore wind use.

The 2 parcels mixed surpasses 100 acres. We’re completely satisfied the NYCEDC noticed the worth of getting the city-owned web site added to the parcel NorthPoint shall be growing for offshore wind makes use of.

New York State regulation dictates the state have 70% of its electrical energy come from renewable power sources by 2030, and requires the event of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035.

This mission, together with Arthur Kill Terminal, an offshore wind turbine meeting facility proposed for Richmond Valley, would enable Staten Island to develop into a significant element within the state’s offshore wind power targets.

It is a win-win state of affairs for Staten Island – we’d lastly do away with the LNG tanks, and on the similar time create a whole lot of jobs and declare our stake as a frontrunner within the offshore wind business.

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