NY Appellate Division Upholds Approval of Off-Shore Wind Farm Project, Including Construction of High-Voltage Electric Transmission Lines

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.

A New York court affirmed the Public Service Commission’s (“PSC”) approval of a high-voltage electric transmission cable related to an off-shore wind farm project in Matter of Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott, Inc. v New York State Public Service Commission. The case involved a proposal to construct a wind farm off the shores of the South Fork of Long Island, which included the construction of a high-voltage electric transmission cable known as the South Fork Export Cable (“SFEC”). After the PSC granted the necessary certificate of environmental compatibility and public need (“CECPN”) for the high-voltage cable, the petitioner, Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott, commenced this proceeding challenging the PSC’s determination. The court ruled in favor of wind farm developer and held that the PSC’s decision to grant the CECPN was neither arbitrary nor capricious and was supported by substantial evidence. Specifically, the PSC had “considered, among other things, potential PFAS impacts and imposed appropriate mitigation, considered and thoroughly mitigated the SFEC project’s construction impacts, carefully considered all proposed routes and rationally concluded that the Beach Lane route minimized adverse impacts to the greatest practicable extent, and rationally determined that the SFEC project conformed to existing long-range plans for expansion of the electric grid.”

Preservation of Wainscott, Inc. v New York State Public Service Commission, 2023 NY Slip Op 02510 (2d Dept. 5/10/23).