The plan to site turbines miles offshore in Lake Erie or in Lake Ontario stirred up strong opinions in Western New York. Some environmentalists supported the plan. Others said it would wreak environmental damage. But whatever the reasons, many lakefront communities passed resolutions condemning the project.

Finally, the Power Authority said Tuesday it would not accept any of the bids to build the Great Lakes Offshore Wind project. Jill Anderson, head of renewable energy for NYPA, says many factors went into the decision:

The Power Authority had made a deal: to buy the power generated at a higher cost to subsidize the cost of the wind farm. But that's turned out to be too expensive.

Anderson says that a relatively small wind farm, which could power about 150,00 homes would have cost NYPA from 60 to 100 million dollars each year.

The agency will still pursue a project near Long Island, closer to bigger, downstate markets.