Large offshore wind project completed off New York coast

The United States’ first commercial utility-scale wind farm is up and running off the coast of New York.

All 12 turbines of the South Fork Wind project have been completed and the project is delivering energy to the Long Island electric grid, officials announced Thursday. At full capacity, the offshore wind project will be capable of producing 130 megawatts of energy, enough to power about 70,000 homes. South Fork is a part of New York ‘s plan to develop 9,000 MW of offshore energy by 2035.

“Offshore wind is not just a source of renewable clean energy but also fosters economic growth, energy independence and environmental protection,” New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said in a statement.

First approved by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in 2017, South Fork Wind began construction in February 2022 with the onshore export cable system that links the project to the Long Island electric grid. The wind farm reached its “steel in the water” milestone in June 2023 with the installation of the project’s first monopile foundation. Its final turbine was installed in February.

Over the past few years, rising labor and material costs, supply-chain issues and high interest rates have clouded the outlook of some wind and other renewable energy projects.

In November 2023, Orsted canceled two wind farms off the coast of New Jersey, called Ocean I and Ocean II.

And despite backing from the U.S. government to build a $2 billion renewable energy plant powered by wind and solar, London-based National Grid canceled its 211-mile Twin State Clean Energy Link earlier this month.

However, some renewable energy projects are still on track.

The Vineyard Wind project’s first turbine delivered power to Massachusetts for the first time in January 2024. Once completed, the site will generate 806 megawatts (MW), enough power for 400,000 New England homes and businesses.

Construction on Vineyard Wind, located about 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, began in late 2021. Once fully built out, the project will have 62 wind turbines spaced 1 nautical mile apart. The first five will be fully operational in early 2024.

And a wind farm being developed off the coast of Virginia by Dominion Energy is still on track. Two wind turbines are currently operational but at full build-out, the site will have 150 turbines with the capacity to produce 2.6 gigawatts of power.

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