Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday the completed installation of the first of 12 turbines for the South Fork Wind farm, which will be the first completed utility-scale wind farm in the United States in federal waters.
When completed, the 130-megawatt wind farm, situated in a federal lease area around 35 miles off Montauk, will generate electricity sufficient to power approximately 70,000 average-size houses, eliminating up to six million tons of carbon emissions, or the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road annually over a 25-year period, according to the wind farm’s developers, Orsted and Eversource Energy.
Monday’s announcement supports progress toward the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to install nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035.
“New York is paving the way toward a clean energy future, and the installation of our first offshore wind turbine marks a momentous step forward,” the governor said in a statement. “We are not only generating clean energy, but also pioneering a healthy and safe environment for future generations of New Yorkers. We are shaping a brighter, greener tomorrow, committed to a future where innovation and sustainability go hand in hand.”
“The installation of New York’s first offshore wind turbine represents concrete action transforming the Climate
Act’s target of nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035 into reality,” Tom Falcone, the Long Island Power Authority’s chief executive officer, said in the same statement, “and LIPA is proud to be supporting this project on behalf of our 1.2 million customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways.”
Construction of the wind farm began early last year with the installation of the onshore export cable that runs underground from the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott to a LIPA substation in East Hampton. The first monopile foundation was installed offshore in June. A spokeswoman for the developers said on Monday that installation of the 12 turbines is expected to be completed by year’s end or early in 2024.
