First monopile foundation installed at South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm
Wind Power

First monopile foundation installed at South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm

South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm, has achieved its “steel in the water” milestone with the installation of the project’s first monopile foundation, Governor Kathy Hochul announced June 22. In the coming days, South Fork Wind will install the project’s U.S.-built offshore substation.

If the project remains on track to be completed by the end of 2023, it would become America’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm to be completed in federal waters. The wind farm is meant to support the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to develop 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035.

The project, which is owned by Eversource and Ørsted, was approved by the Biden administration in late 2021. Construction began shortly after the project was cleared in early 2022. Eversource considered pulling out of its offshore wind partnership with Ørsted in 2022, citing record-setting U.S. lease auctions, but ultimately decided to continue after a strategic review.

Leaders celebrate the groundbreaking for South Fork Wind– New York’s first offshore wind project (Courtesy: South Fork Wind)

Environmentalists had previously raised concerns about the endangered North Atlantic right whales, whose habitats and lives could be disturbed by the construction. South Fork Wind reached an agreement with the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Conservation Law Foundation in June 2022, in which Eversource and Ørsted committed to adopting monitoring to track whale locations, reducing noise created by pile driving, and implementing a 10-knot speed limit in the area to reduce the chance of vessel strikes.

Once completed, the wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to power roughly 70,000 homes, helping New York meet its Climate Act goals. First approved by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in 2017, South Fork Wind was selected under a 2015 request for proposals to address growing energy needs on the east end of Long Island.

With this milestone reached, South Fork Wind officially enters its wind turbine installation phase, the final construction period on the 12-turbine, 130-megawatt project. South Fork Wind launched in February 2022, beginning with the onshore export cable system.

The project is one of five offshore wind projects New York State has in active development, the largest portfolio in the nation. This current portfolio totals more than 4,300 MW and should power more than 2.4 million New York homes, and it is expected to bring a combined economic impact of $12.1 billion to the state. The projects are also expected to create more than 6,800 jobs in project development, component manufacturing, installation, and operations and maintenance. Achieving the State’s 9,000 MW by 2035 goal will generate enough offshore wind energy to power approximately 30% of New York State’s electricity needs, equivalent to nearly 6 million New York State homes, and spur approximately 10,000 jobs.

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An offshore installation vessel, Boskalis’s Bokalift 2, is transporting and installing the foundations. South Fork Wind includes the first U.S.-built offshore wind substation. More than 350 U.S. workers across three states supported construction of this South Fork Wind substation, a topside structure that will collect the power produced by wind turbines and connecting it to the grid. New York union workers supported its installation offshore.

Advanced foundation components will be transported to the site for installation. Finally, the wind farm’s Siemens-Gamesa 11-MW wind turbine generators will be installed.

Once in operation, South Fork Wind will be supported by America’s first offshore wind Service Operations Vessel, as well as U.S.-built crew transfer vessels.

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