Ørsted and Eversource have taken a final investment decision (FID) and begun construction on their 132MW South Fork Wind offshore wind project, off Long Island, New York.
In January, the groundwork for the FID had been laid when South Fork received final approval from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for its construction and operations plan – the final approval in the agency’s review of the project.
South Fork is only the second commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US to start construction. Work on Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid’s 806MW Vineyard Wind 1 is already underway to the north, off Massachusetts.
When South Fork comes online at the end of 2023, the output will be sold to the Long Island Power Authority. The power will be generated by 12 of Siemens Gamesa’s SG 11.0-200 DD turbines.
"The harsh impacts and costly realities of climate change are all too familiar on Long Island, but today as we break ground on New York's first offshore wind project we are delivering on the promise of a cleaner, greener path forward that will benefit generations to come," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
In January, Hochul had announced a $500 million investment in offshore wind ports, manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure in New York.
United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland also attended the groundbreaking ceremony. "America's clean energy transition is not a dream for a distant future – it is happening right here and now,” she said. “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.”
President Joe Biden has set a goal of 30GW of offshore wind online in the US by 2030. Currently, only 42MW is online.
New York has a mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70% renewable energy generation by 2030 and a commitment to develop 9GW of offshore wind by 2035.
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