USA offshore


Beginning to get more steel in the water


South Fork completed, Vineyard Wind 1 next I


t has been far from plain sailing for the USA’s fledgling offshore wind sector in recent times, with cost escalation, supply chain problems, impairments, write downs and cancellations, latterly due to GE Vernova deciding to pull back from its 18 MW offshore turbine offering and to focus on its 15.5 MW machine (upgradeable to 16.5 MW).


Amidst the turbulence, it is worth noting one important milestone, achieved in March 2024, the completion of South Fork Wind, about 35 miles off the coast of Montauk, described by its developers as the USA’s first commercial scale and/or utility scale offshore wind farm. With an installed capacity of 132 MW, employing twelve SG 11.0-200 DD wind turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa, it is at the low end of commercial/utility scale, but nevertheless a significant achievement. Speaking of the project’s successful completion, National Climate Advisor to President Biden, Ali Zaidi said, “Instead of denying climate change, the Biden-Harris Administration is building the infrastructure that allows us to take on this crisis.” South Fork Wind has been developed and constructed as a joint venture of Ørsted (which operates America’s first offshore wind farm, the 30 MW, five turbine


Providence Massachusetts


South Fork wind farm work area South Fork wind farm cable route South Fork wind farm interarray cables


South Fork wind farm wind turbine locations


Rhode Island Sound


Middle Shoal Rock


Gardiners Bay


Napeague Bay


Long Island, New York


South Fork Wind Farm


Block Island Sound


Rhode Island


Buzzards Bay


Vineyard Sound


Block Island


Block Island facility) and Eversource. In February 2024 Eversource announced that it had executed a definitive agreement to sell its 50% ownership share in South Fork Wind and Revolution Wind to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).


South Fork completed (photo: Ørsted) 32


First approved by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Board of Trustees in 2017, South Fork Wind entered the construction phase in February 2022, beginning with the onshore export cable system that links the project to the Long Island electric grid. The wind farm reached its “steel in the water” milestone in June 2023 with the installation of the project’s first monopile foundation, and its final turbine was installed in February 2024. South Fork Wind’s completion supports progress, albeit a relatively modest step, towards New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requirements, which target 70% renewable energy by 2030 and installation of 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035.


Vineyard Wind 1 under construction (photo: Avangrid)


World Wind Technology


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