South Fork Wind, the primary commercial-scale offshore wind undertaking to return on-line within the U.S., and New York’s first offshore wind farm, marks a milestone for the trade’s future in America.
The U.S. offshore wind trade has moved in suits and begins. Delays brought on by regulatory businesses, and a altering political local weather, have slowed improvement of some tasks and introduced uncertainty to the trade as an entire.
That’s why offshore wind proponents, and clear vitality advocates, agree that success tales ought to be celebrated. Such is the case with South Fork Wind, which earlier this 12 months turned the primary U.S. commercial-scale offshore wind undertaking to return on-line. It’s a milestone for U.S. offshore wind and a significant step ahead for the way forward for such tasks off American shores, making it worthy of recognition as a POWER Prime Plant.
“South Fork Wind marks the start of a brand new period in American offshore wind—the primary commercial-scale offshore wind farm in U.S. historical past. The undertaking set a brand new commonplace for offshore wind vitality technology, with its 12 generators offering sufficient clear vitality to energy roughly 70,000 New York houses,” mentioned Brennan Guldner, asset supervisor of South Fork Wind. “Development of South Fork Wind concerned over 170 contracts with suppliers throughout 19 states, catalyzing almost $1 billion in non-public funding and jump-starting a nationwide offshore wind provide chain. South Fork Wind is proof of the numerous environmental and financial advantages of commercial-scale offshore wind and is a mannequin for different massive tasks presently in improvement, together with the Revolution Wind undertaking in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and the Dawn Wind undertaking in New York.”
Sited Off the U.S. Northeast Coast
South Fork, a 132-MW set up that got here on-line in March of this 12 months, is situated about 19 miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island—dwelling to the primary U.S. offshore wind farm, a small, 30-MW set up that has operated since December 2016. South Fork is about 35 miles east of Montauk Level, New York, in waters starting from 108 to 135 toes deep. An underwater transmission line connects the undertaking to the native energy grid in East Hampton, New York.
The undertaking was constructed as a three way partnership between Ørsted and Eversource Vitality, although Eversource is within the strategy of finalizing the sale of its stake to International Infrastructure Companions, a New York Metropolis-based funding fund. South Fork Wind contains a dozen Siemens Gamesa (SG) 11.0-200 DD wind generators, put in in a grid and spaced simply a couple of mile aside. The SG generators, every with 11 MW of technology capability, function 656-feet-diameter rotors and 318-feet-long blades, with a swept space of 337,987 ft 2.
The generators have direct drive expertise and use a everlasting magnet generator. Every turbine additionally is supplied with a excessive wind ride-through, or HWRT, system that may shut down the turbine to assist defend parts when wind speeds are increased than 82 toes per second.
“Eversource is dedicated to serving to lead our nation’s clear vitality transition by working carefully with renewable vitality builders to interconnect their tasks to our transmission system, in addition to making certain the electrical grid is resilient and may deal with the rise in energy demand pushed by electrification,” mentioned Invoice Quinlan, president of Transmission and Offshore Wind Initiatives at Eversource Vitality. “We’re already placing Individuals to work constructing the onshore infrastructure that brings offshore wind vitality to our houses and companies. South Fork Wind was made potential by lots of of union staff and contractors constructing the transmission system and onshore substation, in addition to thousands and thousands in investments in Rhode Island’s ProvPort and Connecticut’s State Pier. This undertaking serves as a mannequin for our work throughout the area and we’re already capitalizing on these investments and the area’s proficient workforce on further tasks presently in improvement, such because the Cape Cod Answer multi-phase transmission program to extend the reliability of the Cape’s transmission system and interconnect offshore wind.”
Completion of building of all 12 generators of the wind farm was introduced on March 14 of this 12 months. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, together with Inside Secretary Deb Haaland and different dignitaries, highlighted the historic significance of the wind farm’s supply of energy to Lengthy Island and the Rockaways.
“Once I broke floor on the South Fork undertaking, I made a promise to construct a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers,” Hochul mentioned. South Fork Wind introduced the monetary funding determination (FID) for the undertaking in February 2022 and began onshore building in the identical month.
Mentioned Hochul, “I’m conserving to that promise and South Fork Wind is now delivering clear vitality to tens of 1000’s of houses and companies on Lengthy Island. With extra tasks within the pipeline, that is only the start of New York’s offshore wind future and I stay up for continued partnership with the Biden administration and native leaders to construct a clear and resilient vitality grid.”
A number of Corporations Concerned in Development
Among the many corporations collaborating in South Fork Wind’s building had been Haugland Vitality Group, Elecnor Hawkeye, and Roman Stone. These teams constructed a lot of the undertaking’s infrastructure, together with an onshore substation and the underground transmission system. Riggs Distler was a Tier 1 provider for South Fork, offering onshore building, meeting, and inspection of superior basis parts. Kiewit Offshore Companies designed and constructed the offshore substation; Ramboll collaborated with Kiewit on the front-end engineering design, and detailed design of the high-voltage alternating-current offshore substation.
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1. This Bokalift vessel, a part of the fleet operated by Boskalis, a Dutch firm, helped transfer parts for the foundations and offshore substation for South Fork Wind. The vessels can be utilized for transportation and set up of jackets and monopiles for offshore wind generators. Courtesy: South Fork Wind |
Hellenic Cables was commissioned for the design, manufacture, provide, testing, and termination of lots of the 66-kV cross-linked polyethylene-insulated subsea inter-array cables and related equipment. Boskalis was contracted to move and set up the foundations and offshore substation (Determine 1), and Van Oord was chosen for the transport and set up of the wind generators. Different corporations concerned within the undertaking embrace VHB, Mott MacDonald, Stantec, Sea Companies North America, and HeliService Worldwide.
The undertaking options parts manufactured and assembled in a number of states. For instance, the offshore substation was inbuilt Texas, its export cable was made in South Carolina, and basis parts got here from Rhode Island. Meeting of many components occurred in Connecticut.
Guldner advised POWER: “The Northeast is a precedence marketplace for Ørsted, and South Fork Wind has paved the best way for achievement at our subsequent tasks within the area. From investments in port infrastructure, to workforce coaching packages with universities and governments, to the rising native provide chain, our partnerships have helped make this area an offshore wind powerhouse. We see 2024 as a 12 months of motion for offshore wind, and South Fork Wind is a primary instance.”
Undertaking Permitted in 2017
The undertaking was initially authorised by the Lengthy Island Energy Authority Board of Trustees in 2017. Development started in February 2022, and began with the onshore export cable system that hyperlinks the undertaking to the Lengthy Island electrical grid. The primary monopile basis—what the trade calls “metal within the water”—was put in in June 2023. The ultimate turbine was positioned in February of this 12 months.
“The worldwide offshore wind trade confronted macroeconomic challenges in 2023, however our work on South Fork Wind continued and we had been in a position to obtain first energy on the finish of that 12 months—a real turning level for America’s offshore wind trade,” mentioned Guldner.
South Fork Wind’s generators had been staged and assembled at State Pier in New London, Connecticut. Basis parts had been accomplished on the Ørsted and Eversource fabrication hub at ProvPort in Rhode Island. The undertaking’s crew vessels and crew change helicopter are primarily based out of Quonset Level, Rhode Island.
“South Fork Wind was made potential by native labor, native suppliers, and native buy-in from neighborhood leaders and elected officers in any respect ranges,” mentioned Guldner. “We’re proud that our partnerships and investments helped construct a proficient pipeline of staff and companies excited to be part of this historic undertaking, and in doing so, we helped make South Fork Wind a real supply of pleasure for Lengthy Islanders and all New Yorkers.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
