South Fork Wind recently shipped the first offshore wind turbine from the Port of New London, Conn., to the project’s offshore site, marking the start of the final construction phase for the offshore wind farm.
South Fork Wind is a joint venture project between Ørsted and Eversource. The offshore wind farm will be located 35 miles east of Montauk Point. The project will generate 132 megawatts.
The South Fork Wind project, New York's first offshore wind farm, was selected under a 2015 Long Island Power Authority request for proposals to address growing power needs on the east end of Long Island.
The first of South Fork Wind’s 12 Siemens Gamesa wind turbine generators -- pre-assembled tower sections; a nacelle; and three blades each longer than a football field -- was loaded onto a U.S.-flagged transport barge pulled by two U.S.-flagged tugboats destined for the project site 35 miles off Montauk, New York. The first turbine will be installed in the coming days, Orsted said.
“South Fork Wind is a landmark project showcasing that New York is leading the way to our clean energy future,” said Thomas Falcone, CEO of LIPA. “We are proud to support this project, paving the way for New York’s first offshore wind farm as we look to build a sustainable future for our 1.2 million customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways.”
First approved by LIPA’s Board of Trustees in 2017, South Fork Wind began construction in February 2022, beginning with the onshore export cable system that links the project to LIPA’s energy grid.
The wind farm reached its “steel in the water” milestone in June 2023 and has completed the onshore substation, and installation offshore of the turbine foundations, advanced foundation components, the first U.S.-built offshore wind substation, and the array and export cables that bring the power to shore.
Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel, the Aeolus, will install the turbines.
Once in operations, South Fork Wind will be supported by U.S.-built crew transfer vessels and eventually by America’s first offshore wind Service Operations Vessel.
The wind farm’s construction has already been served by the first helicopters supporting the U.S. offshore wind industry, based out of Quonset State Airport, Rhode Island.
