By GREGORY ZELLER //
America’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm is up and running in Long Island waters.
Construction work on South Fork Wind, a field of 12 wind turbines situated about 35 miles east of Montauk Point, has been completed and the farm is officially delivering power to Long Island and the Rockaways.
The farm is still ramping up – project commissioning (involving various scheduling, testing, adjusting and training protocols) is “in its final stage,” according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, and it will be some time before the farm fulfills its full 130-megawatt promise (enough clean energy to power roughly 70,000 homes).
But the commencement of South Fork Wind operations – coming just four months after construction officially began on the farm’s first gigantic turbine – is “further proof that America’s clean-energy transition is not a dream for a distant future,” according to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who joined Hochul and other dignitaries Thursday on Stony Brook University’s Southampton campus to trumpet the big opening.
Deb Halland: In the moment.
“It’s happening right here and now,” Haaland added. “Every day, the Interior Department is answering President (Joe) Biden’s call and moving rapidly to create a robust and sustainable clean-energy economy that creates jobs, boosts local economies and helps address environmental justice.”
Economic arguments have actually fueled opponents of Albany’s offshore-wind push – Long Island’s commercial fishing industry has raised a stink, while some observers have pinned rising energy rates, at least in part, on the state’s aggressive climate policies.
But regional lawmakers and environmentalists heralded Thursday’s announcement as a major economic and ecological score.
United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), a self-professed “big fan of wind energy,” celebrated a “milestone moment in our state’s and the nation’s effort to combat climate change,” while the New York Offshore Wind Alliance – a diverse coalition of energy and conservation groups – issued a statement applauding “visionary leadership from local, county and state elected officials; strong commitment and community engagement from civic leaders across the labor, business and environmental spectrum … and the skill, experience and investment capabilities of leading developers.”
“The completion of South Fork Wind marks a historic achievement for the State of New York and for our nation,” added Long Island Power Authority CEO Thomas Falcone. “LIPA is proud to be a partner in this landmark project and we will continue to pursue our collective vision for a sustainable and resilient energy future that creates jobs, builds our economy and protects our environment.”
First of many: New York is just getting started with offshore-wind power, according to Gov. Hochul.
South Fork Wind is a joint effort of international partners Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy, who stuck together on this project while horse-trading ownership of Sunrise Wind, a proposed 924-megawatt offshore-wind farm slated to deliver power directly to Long Island.
In January, Denmark-based Ørsted and Massachusetts-based Eversource signed a buyout agreement giving Eversource’s 50-percent share of Sunrise Wind to Ørsted – a deal that was finalized in February, when the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority approved a new Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificates contract for Sunrise Wind.
Ownership issued aside, Thursday’s announcement marks another red-letter date for Ørsted and Eversource – and for New York State’s ambitious clean-energy ambitions, according to Hochul.
“When I broke ground on the South Fork project, I made a promise to build a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers,” the governor said at Thursday’s press event. “I’m keeping to that promise and South Fork Wind is now delivering clean energy to tens of thousands of homes and businesses on Long Island.
“With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future,” she added. “I look forward to continued partnership with the Biden Administration and local leaders to build a clean and resilient energy grid.”
