A former supporter of Deepwater and the South Fork Wind Farm, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (District 1) withdrew his support for Deepwater on Jan. 24, 2019, once he had seen the new information. He wrote:
This is the classic “bait and switch.” What we were originally told about the project and its goals are no longer true. A project originally proposed by an American company to address the growing energy needs of eastern Long Island, now is to be part of the portfolio of an international energy giant, whose first decision was a 44% increase in the size of the project. We are left to imagine what other changes might be made or what other projects might show up on our doorstep in the future …
Because of the ‘bait and switch’ tactics of Deepwater/Orsted, I cannot trust them with my community’s future. Local government should also consider these unethical tactics before it makes any more decisions about this project.
See Assemblyman Thiele’s full letter to the Town Board here along with various press coverage.