After getting clearance from the Biden administration, New York’s first offshore wind farm is slated to start construction in January 2022. The US Department of Interior has issued a Record of Decision for South Fork Wind, a 132 MW project that will be located 19 miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The project, which is the second commercial-scale offshore wind project to get government approval in the United States, is a collaboration between Ørsted and Eversource.
South Fork Wind is likely to create enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes in New York once it is completed. According to the corporations, operations will commence by the end of 2023. The news is a step in the right direction for the Biden administration’s objective of installing 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. Vineyard Wind 1, the United States’ first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, broke ground last week in Massachusetts.
South Fork Wind has been given permission to build 12 or less wind turbines off the coast of Rhode Island. Siemens Gamesa’s -11 MW turbines will be used in the project. The project’s substation will be designed and built by Kiewit Offshore Services. The project’s construction and operation plan for the one-nautical mile turbine layout, construction methodology, fishing industry compensation plan, and mitigation measures to conserve species is expected to be approved in January 2022.
REGlobal’s Views: Many more such offshore wind projects are expected to reach advanced stages of development in the coming years in United States as the country witnesses massive activity in the clean energy space.
