South Fork Wind Whirls Into History Off Montauk  – Dan’s Papers

South Fork Wind breezed into the history books Thursday when officials declared all 12 turbines of the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm were fully operational 35 miles off the Montauk coast.

The 132-megawatt wind farm, which will power 70,000 of the Long Island Power Authority’s 1.1 million customers, took seven years to complete after the LIPA board initially approved the plan. The breakthrough came 20 years after the agency’s leadership initially proposed building a similar project off the coast of Jones Beach — a plan that was scrapped following community opposition.

“This landmark project, right in our backyard, ushers in a new era in clean and renewable energy for our community, our state and our country, now and for future generations,” said Concerned Citizens of Montauk Executive Director Kay Tyler.

While environmentalists cheered green energy making progress and union leaders touted the hundreds of jobs created, commercial fishing groups decried the impact on their industry and Wainscott residents fought the transmission cable coming ashore in their community. The project helps advance the Biden administration’s efforts to establish a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and furthers New York State’s goal to have 70% of its electricity sourced from renewable energy in the next six years. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and National Climate Advisor to President Biden Ali Zaidi were among the officials who were big fans of the wind farm’s debut. South Fork Wind is projected to eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the next quarter century — the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road for the next two decades.

The milestone isn’t the first time Long Island played a role in U.S. technological advancements. The region was also the starting point of the first transatlantic solo flight, where researchers discovered DNA and where engineers built the Lunar Module that enabled the first astronauts to walk on the Moon.

“Now we can add South Fork Wind, the nation’s first operational wind farm in federal waters to the history books,” said Long Island Association President and CEO Matt Cohen.

While the approval process dragged on for the better part of a decade, construction moved along relatively quickly. Work began in 2022 leading up to the building of the turbines starting in June 2023 with the final turbine completed in February.

“From the first steel in the water to the final turbine, our hard-working offshore wind construction team has put South Fork Wind on the path to making American energy history,” said  David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas of Ørsted, which built the wind farm in partnership with Eversource Energy.

With the project online, all eyes are on the horizon for what’s next. The two companies also recently were awarded revised contracts to build Sunrise Wind, an even bigger wind farm off Montauk. The state awarded another company a contract to build the Empire 1 wind farm in the waters south of Long Beach. More projects are in the planning stages off the coast.

Group for the East End President Bob DeLuca said, “We applaud the completion of South Fork Wind, and the hope it inspires for both a clean energy future, and a sustaining commitment to meaningful climate action for Long Island, and across New York State.”