Offshore wind turbines. Image by: Ørsted A/S. January 20 (Renewables Now) – The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has given the go-ahead to the construction and operations plan (COP) for the 132-MW South Fork offshore wind project off Long Island in New York.
The approval was the last hurdle in the permitting process needed to move to construction and comes two months after BOEM cleared the project’s environmental plan, Denmark’s Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED) said on Wednesday. The energy major owns the project together with New England utility Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES).
The project is set to create New York state’s first offshore wind park. To be located 35 miles (56.3km) east of Montauk Point and 19 miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, the wind farm is due to become operational at the end of 2023.
Construction works on the project will start with site preparation and onshore activities related to the underground duct bank system and interconnection facility, Ørsted said. Fabrication of the project’s 1,500-tonne offshore substation is already in process by Kiewit Offshore Services. The duct bank system will be installed by Haugland Energy Group LLC.
Installation of the monopile foundations and turbines is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2023. Once up and running, its 11-MW Siemens Gamesa turbines will be capable of producing enough electricity for roughly 70,000 homes in New York.
South Fork was selected in 2015 to deliver electricity to Long Island Power Authority and PSEG Long Island, a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group.
