South Fork Wind delivers first power to Long Island 

The east coast windfarm, which is being built by Ørsted and Eversource Energy, is the first utility-scale offshore windfarm in federal waters to achieve this milestone. 

The developers of the project, Ørsted and Eversource Energy, have completed installation of two turbines, with one operational, approximately 35 miles off Montauk, with all 12 turbines expected to be installed by early 2024. 

When complete, South Fork Wind will generate approximately 130 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power approximately 70,000 Long Island homes. 

“New York’s nation-leading efforts to generate reliable, renewable clean energy have reached a major milestone,” Governor Hochul said. “South Fork Wind will power thousands of homes, create good-paying union jobs and demonstrate to all that offshore wind is a viable resource New York can harness for generations to come.” 

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority president and chief executive Doreen Harris said, “This moment represents years of hard work, vision, and the courage to lead in our energy transition. Long Island residents are now experiencing first-hand the benefits of their homes and businesses being powered with clean, renewable electricity from South Fork Wind, and we congratulate the teams at Ørsted and Eversource who built this incredible project on celebrating first power today.” 

Ørsted Group EVP and chief executive Americas David Hardy said, “East Hampton has now made history as the first community in New York to receive clean energy from an offshore windfarm. 

“South Fork Wind is not just a trailblazing project for the state, it’s also one of the foundations of America’s offshore wind energy industry and a testament to our team’s commitment, expertise and hard work.”

First approved in 2017, South Fork Wind began construction in February 2022, beginning with the onshore export cable system that links the project to the grid, which was completed early this year. The windfarm reached its ‘steel in the water’ milestone in June 2023 with the installation of the project’s first monopile foundation. Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus is installing the turbines. South Fork Wind includes the first US-built offshore wind substation.