New York approves a $3.26bn, 90-mile line despite offshore wind setbacks
Victoria Shinder2 min readThe New York Public Service Commission approved, on 17 September 2026, a 90-mile transmission line intended to move more power — including offshore wind — between Long Island and the rest of the state. The $3.26 billion project, Propel NY Energy, is being built by New York Transco and the New York Power Authority, with new underground lines at 138 kV and 345 kV connecting to nine existing or new substations across Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, Bronx and Westchester counties. The NY ISO selected it in 2023 through its public-policy transmission planning process.
The contested point was need. Opponents argued the project was no longer necessary given the cancellation of several offshore wind projects. The Commission disagreed, and its reason is the interesting part: the state's renewable-energy goals remain unchanged in statute, New York has more than 1,800 MW of offshore wind operating or under construction, and the 9 GW-by-2035 offshore wind goal survived this year's changes to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act even as emissions-reduction targets were altered.
What it means
Transmission is being justified by the statute, not the pipeline. The Commission's logic is that the legal target sets the need, regardless of how many individual projects have slipped. That is a durable basis for building wires — a line lasts decades and outlives any single generation project — and it is also the argument opponents will keep testing.
Underground at 345 kV is expensive on purpose. Burying high-voltage lines through dense downstate counties costs far more than overhead, and the $3.26 billion reflects the route as much as the length. That cost lands in rates, which is why "is it needed" is not an abstract question here.
Watch the gap between goal and build-out. 1,800 MW operating against a 9 GW target is the tension the whole case turns on. If offshore wind keeps slipping, the wires get built ahead of the generation they were sized for — which is either prudent or premature, depending on the next few procurement rounds.