Vote On Long Island Wind Farm Postponed At State's Request

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New York utility has postponed a vote on a wind farm off eastern Long Island.

The Long Island Power Authority said Tuesday it will postpone a meeting of its board of trustees that had been scheduled for Wednesday.

The board had been expected to approve a plan for a 90-megawatt, 15-turbine wind farm in U.S. waters east of Montauk -- a plan some environmental activists believe is necessary, WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reported.

"The United States of America needs offshore wind in order to be a leader in renewable energy, but also in fighting climate change," Citizen's Campaign for the Environment president Adrienne Esposito said.

LIPA says it will delay the meeting until after the release of the state's off-shore wind master plan.

The utility says the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority asked it to postpone the vote.

LIPA says the authority requested the delay because the wind master plan is scheduled to be released in the next several weeks.

Esposito says she is hopeful the vote will be rescheduled soon.

"We can do it, we need to do it -- we need Gov. Cuomo's leadership to get it done," she said.

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