South Fork Wind Farm is a utility-scale
offshore wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...
currently being constructed on the
Outer Continental Shelf
The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a feature of the geography of the United States. The OCS is the part of the internationally recognized continental shelf of the United States which does not fall under the jurisdictions of the individual U. ...
Offshore
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
(RI) which will provide energy to
New York state
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
.
South Fork is a major (130
MW, 12-turbine) commercial offshore wind power project. It will be located 16.6 nautical miles () southeast of
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
's
Block Island
Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...
and 26
nautical miles
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...
() east of
Montauk Point
Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318.
The ...
on the
South Fork of New York's
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. The wind farm is projected to provide electricity to proved 70,000 Long Island homes.
[Dartunorro Clark]
Biden administration approves second major offshore wind project, to provide power to N.Y.
NBC News (November 24, 2021).[Dino Grandoni]
Biden administration approves first offshore wind farm to supply power to New York
''Washington Post'' (November 24, 2021). The specific location of the project is a section of Wind Energy Area (WEA) OCS-A 0486 (North Lease). The wind farm is to connect to the power grid through an underwater cable to
East Hampton, New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a total ...
.
New York Governor
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the firs ...
and Interior Secretary
Deb Haaland
Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior, United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she s ...
held a groundbreaking ceremony in February 2022 for the project, being built by
Ørsted US Offshore Wind
Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind is an offshore wind energy development group that is affiliated with Ørsted, a Danish firm. It is joint headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2019, it was involved in some of the lar ...
in conjunction with
Eversource
Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to ap ...
and the
Long Island Power Authority
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA, "lie-pah") is a municipal subdivision of the State of New York that owns the electric transmission and electric distribution system serving all of Long Island and a portion of New York City known as the Rocka ...
.
History
Deepwater Wind
On September 12, 2013,
BOEM
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior, established in 2010 by Secretarial Order.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) states: "...the outer Continental Shelf is a vi ...
awarded two commercial offshore wind energy leases, OCS-A-0486 and OCS-A-0487, to Deepwater Wind New England LLC for development of a regional offshore wind energy project. Deepwater ONE (formerly Deepwater Wind Energy Center) would be located in the Atlantic Ocean on 256 square miles on the outer continental shelf, approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, New York, and 15 miles east of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The project would consist of 150 to 200 turbines with a total nameplate generating capacity of 900 to 1,200 MW. It includes a 98-mile, 600 MW submarine transmission line, a new regional HVDC transmission system, and a New York-Long Island interconnector to link the electrical supply system in New England and Long Island.
Deepwater Wind, the predecessor to Orsted, originally proposed a 90-megawatt, 15-turbine wind farm in area where it had leased 256 square miles the area in 2013. (The leased area has a potential of supporting 200 turbines.)
Long Island Power Authority
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA, "lie-pah") is a municipal subdivision of the State of New York that owns the electric transmission and electric distribution system serving all of Long Island and a portion of New York City known as the Rocka ...
recommended the project for approval in July 2016, which was delayed in July 2016 at the request of the
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Regulatory approval for a 90 MW wind farm was granted in January 2017. Thomas Falcone, CEO of LIPA, said they hope to complete the contract in first quarter 2017 with construction beginning in 2019 and that it would be online in 2022. The target of the power to be generated is to power structures in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and
East Hampton on the
South Fork of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, the latter of has vowed to have 100 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources. The project was later expanded to 132 megawatt capacity in 2018.
Ørsted
Ørsted US Offshore Wind
Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind is an offshore wind energy development group that is affiliated with Ørsted, a Danish firm. It is joint headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2019, it was involved in some of the lar ...
acquired Deepwater Wind in 2019. It is partnering with
Eversource Energy
Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to ap ...
to construct the wind farm. The project will use twelve
Siemens Gamesa
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A., formerly Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica S.A. () and Grupo Auxiliar Metalúrgico S.A., is a Spanish-German wind engineering company based in Zamudio, Biscay, Spain. In Spain, the company has two other main ...
11 megawatt turbines.
Long Island Power Authority
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA, "lie-pah") is a municipal subdivision of the State of New York that owns the electric transmission and electric distribution system serving all of Long Island and a portion of New York City known as the Rocka ...
will purchase the electricity generated.
NYSERDA has approved the project. Pending further approvals it is expected to come on line in 2022.
In 2020, the Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott, a group of property owners in the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of
Wainscott, New York
Wainscott is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Cen ...
started a petition to
incorporate
Incorporation may refer to:
* Incorporation (business), the creation of a corporation
* Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county
* Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the student having ...
4.4 square miles of the community as a village. A driving force of the petition was to fight a proposal for the preferred location for the 138-kilovolt electricity transmission line (export cable) to come ashore in the community at Beach Lane en route to an electrical substation in East Hampton.
[Christopher Walsh]
Supervisor Deals Blow to Wainscott Incorporation Efforts
''East Hampton Star'' (March 6, 2021). The effort divided members of the community, with other residents organizing in support of the project.
[ The town board and town trustees have approved the project, granting an easement allowing for the export cable in Wainscott.][ The petition to separately incorporate was rejected as "legally insufficient" in March 2021.][
In January 2021, ]New York Governor
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a ...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
announced that the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal
The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) is an intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located along the Upper New York Bay, between 29th and 39th Streets in the Sunset Park and ...
would be developed to include a wind turbine assembly plant to be partially funded by New York State. Turbines assembled there will be used in three offshore wind farms
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the Wind power, generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per ...
off the east end of Long Island. South Fork Wind Farm, Beacon Wind and Sunrise Wind are projected to be supplied by 2025 from the new plant, built with $200 million in state funding and $200 million in matching grants. Part of a $29 billion 'Green Initiative' plan for New York, the project is expected to create 1,200 new manufacturing jobs in Brooklyn.
Regulatory approvals
In November 2021, Interior Department
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
approved the project. It still need permits from the Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
, and other state and federal agencies.[
]
See also
*Block Island Wind Farm
Block Island Wind Farm was the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States, located from Block Island, Rhode Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The five-turbine, 30 MW project was developed by Deepwater Wind, now Ørsted US Offshor ...
*Cape Wind
The Cape Wind Project was a proposed offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States. It was approvedKrasny, RosCape Wind, first U.S. offshore wind farm, approved ''Reuters'', 28 April 2010. ...
*List of offshore wind farms
This article lists the largest offshore wind farms that are currently operational rated by nameplate capacity. It also lists the largest offshore wind farms currently under construction, the largest proposed offshore wind farms, and offshore w ...
*List of offshore wind farms in the United States
Offshore wind power is in the early stages of development in the United States. In 2016, the United States Department of Energy estimated that the country has a gross resource potential of 10,800GW of offshore wind capacity, with a "technical" r ...
* Wind power in Massachusetts
*Wind power in New York
New York has 2,192 MW of installed wind power capacity as of 2022. Most of New York's wind power is located in upstate New York as onshore wind farms. New York has set a goal of developing 9,000 MW of offshore installed wind power capacity by 2035 ...
* Wind power in Rhode Island
*Wind power in the United States
Wind power is a branch of the energy industry that has expanded quickly in the United States over the last several years. From January through December 2021, 379.8 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power, or 9.23% of electricity in the U ...
References
{{Wind power in the United States
New York (state) infrastructure
Offshore wind farms in the United States
Proposed wind farms in the United States
Wind power in Connecticut
Wind power in New York (state)
Wind power in Rhode Island