Monday 14 February 2022

Construction of New York’s first offshore wind project kicks off

Construction of the first ever offshore wind project in New York State, located off the coast of Long Island, has kicked off.

South Fork Wind, jointly developed by Ørsted and Eversourceoff, will have a total capacity of 130MW and generate enough electricity to power 70,000 homes once completed at the end of 2023.

Located around 35 miles east of Montauk Point, it consists of 11 turbines and will deliver clean energy to the electricity grid in the Town of East Hampton.

It is expected to eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 60,000 cars off the road annually, over a 25-year period.

The project supports New York's ambition of installing 9GW of offshore wind power by 2035 and the Biden Administration's 30GW goal by 2030.

The two companies have also received approvals for two other projects in the Northeast with a total capacity of around 1.8GW.

Governor Kathy Hochul said: “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.

“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 continue working with Secretary Haaland as we lead our nation toward a greener, brighter future for all.”