Orsted and Eversource, which are jointly developing the South Fork Wind farm to be situated about 35 miles off Montauk Point, have announced that Haugland Energy Group of Melville will install the underground duct bank system for the wind farm’s onshore transmission line and lead the construction of the project’s onshore interconnection facility in East Hampton.
The 12-turbine wind farm’s transmission cable is to make landfall at the ocean beach in Wainscott, at the end of Beach Lane, and then follow an approximately 4.1-mile underground path to the Long Island Power Authority substation in East Hampton, from which it will connect to the electrical grid.
In a statement on Friday, the developers said that the agreement will create more than 100 union jobs for Long Island skilled trades workers, including heavy equipment operators, electricians, line workers, and delivery drivers who will transport materials to the project site. Haugland Group affiliates are signatory to several Long Island unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1049 and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 138, who will provide the construction labor for the project. In addition to Haugland Energy Group, several other local businesses will support the project’s construction and will prioritize local sourcing of construction materials.
The New York State Public Service Commission approved the developers’ environmental management and construction plan in November, putting the wind farm on track to be fully permitted early in 2022, with onshore construction work beginning soon after. The project will be New York’s first offshore wind farm and is to power approximately 70,000 average-size residences with offshore wind energy when it begins operations at the end of 2023.