Jun 15 - Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Greenpeace docked its newest ship, Witness, at Robert Moses State Park yesterday to show its support for a plan to build 40 wind turbines in the ocean a few miles offshore to generate electricity.

The environmental organization has partnered with WindWorks for Long Island, a coalition of more than 30 local and national environmental and civic groups, to campaign on behalf of wind as an energy alternative.

Greenpeace officials used global warming to illustrate the need for power generation that does not rely on fossil fuels. The crew on the 44-foot sailboat placed a satellite phone call to two Greenpeace explorers who are making the first summer exploration across the Arctic to document the impact of global warming.

Kate Smolski, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, said global warming's impact here will "create more intense storms and affect sea level rise, which will lead to beach erosion."

"We had [the explorers] make the link between the Arctic and how global warming is going to affect Long Island," Smolski said.

The turbines would each rise more than 400 feet above the water and would be constructed 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 miles off the South Shore between Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park. They are projected to churn out 140 megawatts of power, meeting the energy needs of 44,000 Long Island homes. LIPA awarded construction and ownership of the project to Florida Power and Light in 2004.

According to LIPA chairman Richard Kessel, the company has submitted various federal permit applications and hopes to begin an environmental impact statement this summer. He said the wind park could be completed as early as summer 2008.

South Shore residents are concerned the wind park would be detrimental to the environment and the local real estate market.

Walter Arnold, acting director of Save Jones Beach, said residents who lose a valuable view of the shore will see their home values plummet.

The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bay Shore is the first group to publicly denounce the wind park. Donna Periconi, chamber president, said her group is concerned that only some of the power derived from the wind turbines will power a mere 44,000 Long Island homes. Kessel, however, said all of the power produced by the turbines will be purchased from Florida Power and Light and used on the Island.

Greenpeace's Smolski said her group has a reputation for defending the ocean, and it "wouldn't support wind farms if they were detrimental to the environment."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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