A glut of cheap natural gas, uncertainty over federal support and dwindling financing have combined to reduce forecasts for wind power in New York state by two-thirds since 2009.

With more power plants using natural gas, there are concerns the state could be overreliant on a single fuel source.As more power plant owners use natural gas, which is now historically cheap because of the hydrofracking technique used in Pennsylvania and other states to extract it, New York risks becoming "overdependent" on the fuel for its electricity, according to Stephen Whitley of the New York Independent System Operator.

Whitley spoke Tuesday at the annual meeting of Alliance for Clean Energy, an Albany-based group that represents wind, solar and other alternative energy industries. The ISO is a not-for-profit group that manages the state's electrical system to ensure there is adequate power to meet demand.

ACE Director Carol Murphy said potential overdependence on natural gas to make the state's electricity means state policy needs to do more to support renewables to buffer against future natural gas prices increases. She also noted that the continuing slowdown in the wind market has hurt some related businesses and forced layoffs at such Capital Region companies as AWS Truepower in Latham and Delaney Construction in Gloversville, she said.

For now, one of the brightest spots on the horizon is the planned Long Island - New York City Offshore Wind Project, designed to provide between 350 and 700 megawatts of electricity. In September 2011, the Offshore Wind Collaborative filed an application with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement for offshore land leases about 13 nautical miles off the Rockaway Peninsula in the NYC borough of Queens. The federal lease acquisition process, which includes opportunities for public review, is expected to take approximately two to five years to complete.

A megawatt is typically enough to power 1,000 homes, and a typical fossil fuel-fired power plant produces between 350 and 500 megawatts.