Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub

Winds of Change

After a century of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and steam, Con Edison’s Hudson Avenue generating station is about to get a breath of fresh air. The Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub is an $810 million transmission substation that will rise where three gas combustion turbines once stood near the East River in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood.

The Hub will serve as an interconnection point for offshore wind or other clean energy resources that can feed directly into our grid in the heart of the city to provide clean energy to millions of homes and businesses.

Bight Into Brooklyn

Offshore wind developers have limited options—and time—to connect to New York City’s power grid. For new wind projects set to be built in the New York Bight, an area of ocean about 150 miles off the coast of Long Island and New Jersey, the competition for electric interconnection points is stiff. The few open interconnection points available require significant upgrades to accommodate power from wind turbines, and those upgrades could take years to build.

Con Edison’s Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub stands alone as a unique option that will be the first interconnection point in the area that will be ready to accept offshore wind even before the turbines are completed. And the total cost of the Hub will be less expensive than upgrading multiple existing interconnection points in various locations around the city.

Construction on the site is expected to begin in mid-2024 with the entire project being energized before the summer of 2028.

Benefits to the Community

The Hub will provide clean energy to homes and businesses in parts of Brooklyn and Queens where electric demand is expected to rise rapidly as customers adopt electric transportation and heating.

The transition to electric vehicles and heat pumps is already driving up demand for power in New York City. Con Edison has identified neighborhoods where demand will exceed the existing infrastructure’s capacity by 2028, and the Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub will address those future reliability needs.

In addition to benefiting directly from a reliable supply of clean energy, the project will also benefit surrounding neighborhoods economically by adding solid union jobs both during construction and long-term to run and maintain the site. Several Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) are among the bidders we are currently evaluating before awarding the building contract next year.

With a sleek design, solar panels, and a green roof, the Hub will also beautify the Brooklyn waterfront.

Strategic, Cost Effective, Ready to Go

The Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub is poised to be the first offshore wind interconnection point within the five boroughs that will be online and ready to accept clean wind energy.

Developers are responsible only for the cost of limited system upgrade facilities. Con Edison owns the land and has already been approved to demolish the decommissioned gas turbines currently at the site, paving the way for timely construction of the project. The Hub’s location on the Brooklyn waterfront allows for the flexibility of a connection by water or land.

Our company has been around for 200 years, and so, too, the Hub will be built to last. Lessons learned during Superstorm Sandy have made us a leader in designing resilient systems ready for increasingly severe weather. Our specs go beyond FEMA’s 100-year flood guidelines and the building will be constructed to withstand sustained 130 mph hurricane-force winds.

Finally, working with Con Edison will connect you to a team of experts who know the electric system better than anyone and can guide you at every step.

Work With Us as a Developer

The clean energy future demands bold moves and decisive action both from energy companies and renewable developers. There is no time to waste.

Join us to build the clean energy future together.

Reach out to the team to learn more.