New York offshore wind begins journey with first monopile installed for Orsted-Eversource's South Fork
The 132MW project is nation's second to begin at-sea construction and is on track for commercial operations by year's end, launching New York towards 9GW by 2035
US offshore wind's pacesetting duo of Orsted and New England utility Eversource installed the first of a dozen monopiles for the landmark South Fork Wind array last Friday, launching New York towards its nation-leading 9GW by 2035 mandate.
“This progress on building the first utility-scale offshore wind project in the country cements New York as a national hub for the offshore wind industry,” said New York governor Kathy Hochul.
New York state has taken a leading a role in the offshore wind sector, with $500m in state funding earmarked for port and supply chain investment.
It currently has 4.3GW under contract, mostly to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda), the state regulator charged with overseeing sector development.
“Putting steel in the water for New York's first offshore wind farm project is a major milestone in the development of this new, once in a generation industry in, said Nyserda CEO Doreen Harris.
It “models how community engagement, strong private-public partnerships, and labour can ensure projects move forward in a way that results in significant economic benefits to our state while helping pave the way for a healthier, more resilient future,” she added.
Dutch offshore engineering firm Boskalis drove the foundation at the site 19 miles (31 km) south of Rhode Island, and 35 miles east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York. The remaining eleven monopiles are to be installed over the course of the summer, with the project on track as the US’ first commissioned array as Vineyard won't complete installation of its 64 GE Haliade-X turbines until next year.
South Fork will deploy Siemens Gamesa 11MW turbines, currently the largest ever installed, and once completed, will generate enough to power roughly 70,000 homes and help New York meet its ambitious Climate Act goal of zero-emissions electricity by 2040.
Lengthy timeline
South Fork’s lease acreage was purchased in 2013 by pioneering firm Deepwater Wind, which won an offtake contract with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in 2017 for $160.33/MWh for the initial 90MW of capacity and $86.25/MWh for the balance. Both rates escalate at some 2% annually for the 20-year duration.
The array was later sold to Orsted along with the 704MW Revolution Wind split between Connecticut and Rhode Island and 920MW Sunrise Wind to New York.
The project has stirred controversy during its long development, however, attracting multiple legal efforts to block it from proceeding.
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