Construction Begins on New York’s First Offshore Wind Project

WAINSCOTT, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul along with United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and other elected officials, held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind project, jointly developed by Denmark-based company, Ørsted, and U.S. company, Eversource, off the coast of Long Island.

Once completed at the end of 2023, the offshore wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to power 70,000 homes. Last month, South Fork Wind received final approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for its construction and operations plan, the final in the agency’s review of the project, according to a release on Ørsted’s website.

New York State has set a goal of installing 9 GW of offshore wind power by 2035, while the Biden administration is targeting 30 GW of offshore wind capacity nationwide by 2030. Ørsted and Eversource are contributing to those goals with South Fork Wind and two other already-awarded projects in the Northeast with a total capacity of approximately 1.8 GW.

“South Fork Wind will eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the next twenty-five years benefiting not only the Empire State, but our nation as a whole. This project will also create hundreds of good-paying jobs, helping spur economic growth across the region as we continue to recover from COVID-19. This is a historic day for New York, and I look forward to continuing working with Sec. Haaland as we lead our nation toward a greener, brighter future for all,” said Hochul in a release.

“America’s clean energy transition is not a dream for a distant future – it is happening right here and now. Offshore wind will power our communities, advance our environmental justice goals, and stimulate our economy by creating thousands of good-paying union jobs across the nation. This is one of many actions we are taking in pursuit of the president’s goal to improve both the lives of American families and the health of our planet,” Haaland added.

South Fork Wind will be one of the first commercial-scale offshore wind projects to commence operation in North America. Selected under a 2015 Long Island Power Authority request for proposals to address growing power needs on the east end of Long Island, the project will be located about 35 miles east of Montauk Point and its 12 Siemens-Gamesa 11 MW turbines will generate approximately 130 megawatts of power. Its transmission system will deliver energy directly to the electric grid in the Town of East Hampton. Over a 25-year period, South Fork Wind is expected to eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions, or the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road annually, according to a release from Hochul’s office.