City officials announced today that they are kicking around the idea of building a wind farm off the Rockaway Peninsula. . .about 13 miles off the coast of New York City.

The offshore wind farm would be the largest in the United States, boasting 350 megawatts.

Here's what Kevin Burke, CEO of Con Edison had to say about it...

"If the technical, environmental, economic and social challenges can be met, and we have the support of government, energy and environmental leaders, I am confident this project will be built and produce enormous benefits for our region."

Of course, it's likely that the price tag will be the key.

Back in 2007, a proposal for a 140 megawatt wind farm off the shore of Jones Beach was canceled after project estimates came in at more than twice the initial estimate.

And this latest 350 megawatt project is estimated to run anywhere between $1.35 billion and $2.7 billion.

Still, a lot has changed in the past two years. Most importantly, a pro-renewables White House that is likely to get its national renewable porftolio standard approved this year.

I suppose we'll get a better handle on how this will work out later in the year. But I'm optimistic that at some point very soon, a big chunk of New York City's power is going to come from offshore wind.

Jeff