The South Fork wind farm is a 130MW offshore wind power project developed in federal waters off the coast of Long Island in New York, US. It is the first offshore wind farm in the state of New York.
The project was originally built by South Fork Wind, a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Danish renewable energy company Orsted and US-based electric utility Eversource formed in February 2019.
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In February 2024, Eversource signed an agreement with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to sell its 50% stake in the South Fork wind farm and the 704MW Revolution wind farm project.
The South Fork wind farm became fully operational in March 2024. It generates enough clean energy to power more than 70,000 US households. The power generated is supplied under a long-term power purchase agreement to the Long Island Power Authority.
South Fork wind farm location and make-up
The South Fork wind power project is located 30.6km south-east of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 56.3km east of Montauk Point, New York. The water depth in the project area ranges between 33m (108.2ft) to 41m (134.5ft).
The offshore wind farm consists of 12 SG 11.0-200 DD wind turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa. Supported by steel monopile foundations, the turbines were installed in a grid with an approximate spacing of 1.9km.
The SG 11.0-200 DD offshore wind turbine has a rated power output of 11MW. It features a 200m (656.1ft) diameter rotor, 97m (318.2ft) long blades, and a swept area of 31,400m² (337,987ft²).
The turbine features direct drive technology and uses a permanent magnet generator. It is also equipped with a high wind ride-through (HWRT) system that can shut down the turbine for self-protection when wind speeds are higher than 25m (82ft) per second.
South Fork offshore wind farm development details
South Fork Wind announced the construction of an offshore wind substation at Kiewit Offshore Services’ Texas facility in August 2021. Union workers from New York supported the installation of the substation off the coast of Long Island.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the US Department of the Interior approved the project’s construction in November 2021. The BOEM granted final approval for the construction and operations plan of the wind farm in January 2022.
South Fork Wind announced the financial investment decision (FID) for the project in February 2022 and started onshore construction in the same month.
The foundation and offshore substation transportation and installation activities for the project were announced in June 2022.
The construction of the onshore export cable system was completed for the wind project in May 2023. The first monopile foundation at the project was installed in June 2023. Concurrently, the offshore substation for the project was also installed.
In December 2023, the wind farm began delivering its first power after the initial wind turbine became operational.
Power transmission at South Fork wind farm
The electricity generated by the South Fork offshore wind farm is transmitted directly to the East Hampton substation, located off Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton, via a single 138kV alternating current (AC) transmission line.
An offshore substation collects the power generated by the wind turbines with an inter-array cable system. The substation uses a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor and control wind farm operations.
The offshore substation platform houses high-voltage and secondary medium-voltage power transformers, along with switchyard reactors and a small diesel generator.
Beach Lane in Wainscott, New York, was selected as the preferred cable landing point for the 138kV transmission line from the South Fork offshore substation.
Details of the Eco Edison service operations vessel
A service operations vessel named Eco Edison was built to support the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the South Fork, Revolution and Sunrise offshore wind farms.
Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), a US-based marine transportation solutions provider, began construction of the Eco Edison vessel in March 2022.
The 79.2m-long vessel was used to transfer technicians, tools, and parts to and from the wind farms.
The vessel is powered by four Caterpillar 3512E EPA Tier 4 generator sets, each rated 1,700ekW. It uses the General Electric (GE) Power Conversion electrical system, while its propulsion system comprises the latest generation Voith Schneider Propellers (VSPs).
Louisiana-based company Marine Technologies provides remote monitoring and support for the vessel.
Contractors involved
Siemens Gamesa supplied the turbines for the South Fork wind farm.
In May 2023, Riggs Distler was appointed as a tier 1 supplier for the South Fork wind project, tasked with providing onshore construction, assembly, and inspection of advanced foundation components.
Haugland Energy Group was contracted for the onshore transmission systems for the project in January 2022.
Kiewit Offshore Services (Kiewit) was contracted to design and construct the offshore substation for the project in August 2021.
Ramboll collaborated with Kiewit on the front-end engineering and design (FEED) and detailed design of the high-voltage alternating-current (HVAC) offshore substation topside.
Hellenic Cables was commissioned for the design, manufacture, supply, testing, and termination of 30km of 66kV cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE)-insulated subsea inter-array cables and associated accessories.
Boskalis was contracted to transport and install the foundations and offshore substation for the project, while Van Oord was selected for the transport and installation of the wind turbines.
VHB, Mott MacDonald, Stantec, Sea Services North America, and HeliService International are some of the other contractors involved in the South Fork wind farm project.
