REM: America’s second large offshore wind farm to start construction this month

South Fork Wind, the second most advanced offshore wind farm in the US, has received approval of the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) from the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). It is owned and being developed by Ørsted and Eversource.

The project is slated to start construction on or about January 28, 2022. It is expected to deliver power to the New York City area starting next year.

The news is important because only the 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 has so far moved to this stage. This wind farm is under construction off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. A joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of the Spain-based Iberdrola Group, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), the project is to deliver power to the grid in Massachusetts also starting in 2023.

The COP approval outlines the project’s one nautical mile (1.85 km) turbine spacing – a compromise reached by the developer to accommodate concerns of fishermen. Additionally, it outlines the requirements on the construction methodology for all work occurring in federal ocean waters, as well as mitigation measures to protect marine habitats and species.

BOEM’s final approval of the COP follows the agency’s November 2021 issuance of its Record of Decision, which concluded the thorough BOEM-led environmental review of the project, said the joint venture. Ørsted and Eversource reached these provisions and protections working closely with a range of external organisations and experts, they said, a commitment the companies carry to all stakeholder relationships to help ensure co-existence.

Fishermen off the north-eastern US, where wind development is most advanced, have been vociferously objecting to the federal government’s fast-tracking of offshore wind projects. President Joe Biden has called for 30 GW of offshore wind in the US by 2030.

The project will kick-start New York’s offshore wind industry and power approximately 70,000 New York homes with clean, offshore wind energy when it begins operations at the end of 2023, said the companies.

“This milestone underscores the tremendous opportunity we have to create a new industry from the ground up to drive our green energy economy, deliver clean power to millions of homes and create good jobs across the state,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “As we tackle climate change head on and transition to a clean economy, these are the projects that will power our future.”

In other South Fork news, Eversource and Ørsted have selected Haugland Energy Group to install the underground duct bank system for the project’s onshore transmission line. Haugland will also lead the construction of the project’s onshore interconnection facility in East Hampton, New York.