The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has officially begun a review process for five proposals for the development of offshore wind farms on Lake Erie and Ontario, near the coast of New York. The wind farms are part of the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project (GLOW), and could result in hundreds of megawatts of clean electricity if the state's assessment of the proposed projects has a positive outcome.

The review process will happen over phases, involving a multi-disciplinary approach. GLOW is regarded as a 1-2 punch project, since it will bring clean energy to the power grid, and much needed jobs and investments in the local economy. Once the initial phase of the review process is complete, the public will be included in further phases of the process. New York State has set a goal to achieve 15% renewables by 2015, and the GLOW project would be a significant contributor to this effort, if adopted and completed. According to NYPA's plans, GLOW will reach construction phase in 2013, and begin exporting power to the grid in 2015/2016.

[source: NYPA]