It was a surprise when the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released a study saying the economics don’t support putting wind turbines in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario.

The Great Lakes Wind project as proposed doesn’t offer the same benefits to the electric grid as other offshore wind projects while relying on unproven technologies that call the project’s effectiveness into doubt. In creating the analysis, the authority took into consideration a number of factors that included: physical siting, geophysical and geohazards characterization, fixed and floating technology options, interconnection, environmental risk and benefit as well as public feedback. In reaching its conclusion, NYSERDA found that overall “Great Lakes Wind does not provide the same electric and reliability benefits that offshore wind offers” in downstate locations. The study analyzed physical characteristics of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario to determine the waters would require a combination of fixed offshore wind foundations in Lake Erie and floating offshore wind foundations in Lake Ontario.

In other words, putting wind turbines in Lake Erie right now isn’t worth the hassle.

The news is surely welcomed by those in the area who opposed putting wind turbines on Lake Erie. It shouldn’t, however, cause those who question state regulatory authorities’ ability to make rational decisions about how to cost-effective electric reliability in New York state to reconsider their position. What happened with the Great Lakes Wind study is an island of rationality in a stormy sea of state energy policy that is too often chaotic and ill-thought.