A 130-megawatt offshore wind turbine project
When finished, the 130 megawatt (MW) project, which is situated 35 miles off the coast of Montauk, will be the first utility-scale wind farm in US federal waters. It will produce enough renewable energy over the course of 25 years to power 70,000 homes on Long Island, and it will cut carbon emissions by up to 6 million tons, which is the same as removing 60,000 cars from the road each year.
An historic moment for a trailblazing project: The very first turbine at New York's first-ever offshore wind farm is now in place. #BuildingSouthFork pic.twitter.com/tmYEvzQcaz
— South Fork Wind (@SouthForkWind) November 20, 2023
The project, which uses 12 SG 11-200 DD Siemens Gamesa wind turbines, is being developed in collaboration between the Danish energy giant Ørsted and the Boston-based Eversource. Van Oord’s offshore vessel, the Aeolus, installs the turbines by lifting and positioning the component parts on the foundations. In June, the first foundation was set, and in July, the first offshore substation constructed in the United States was finished.
One transmission line, installed in March, will carry clean energy directly to the East Hampton electric grid as part of the project. A 20-year contract will be used to sell the generated energy to the Long Island Power Authority.
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Along with supporting three ports in the Northeast and generating hundreds of new local jobs, the project has also helped to establish a new offshore wind supply chain in the United States. By late 2023 or early 2024, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) stated that it anticipates having all 12 turbines installed.
In order to meet the state’s objective of having 100% clean electricity by 2040, New York has set a lofty goal to develop 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035, which includes South Fork Wind. With a combined capacity of more than 4 GW, the state is currently developing four additional offshore wind projects: Beacon Wind, Empire Wind 1, Empire Wind 2, and Sunrise Wind.
But there have been some obstacles to the state’s offshore wind plans. For example, Governor Kathy Hochul recently vetoed a bill that would have made transmission planning for offshore wind projects easier. Some Long Beach residents and environmental organizations opposed the bill because they didn’t like that Empire Wind 2 was being transmitted over parkland.
