The impact of the first American-built offshore wind substation to serve New York’s Long Island stretches from Kansas to Texas.
In partnering for the South Fork Wind project, Orsted and Eversource announced work has started on the project. The two firms chose Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit Offshore Services, the largest offshore fabricator in the nation to design and build the substation for the 132-megawatt South Fork Wind project, New York’s first offshore wind farm.
The 1,500-toon, 60 foot-tall substation will be built at Kiewit’s facility in Ingleside, Texas near Corpus Christi and once completed will be moved by sea across the Gulf of Mexico and up along the East Coast.
The firms indicated that more than 350 workers across three states will support the structure. Fabrication workers in Ingleside will be supported by teams in Kansas and Houston. Hundreds of northeast union workers will also work on the project.
Construction is expected to begin in November and be completed by spring 2023. The move from Ingleside to near New York will take place in the summer of that year.
Offshore wind substations are critical components of utility-scale offshore wind farms. Substations collect the power produced by wind turbines and connect the clean energy to the grid. The offshore substation will consist of a topside resting on a mono-pile foundation.
South Fork Wind continues to advance steadily through the federal permitting process, with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issuing the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement on August 16. South Fork Wind remains on-track to be fully permitted in early 2022, with construction activities ramping up soon after and the project producing clean energy by the end of 2023.
“We’re helping to build a new U.S. manufacturing industry that will create thousands of good-paying jobs not just in the Northeast but in communities across the United States,” said David Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of Ørsted Offshore North America.
“Achieving our nation’s clean energy goals will be largely dependent on U.S.-based companies like Kiewit, and we are excited to partner with them to deliver the first U.S.-made offshore wind substation,” Joe Nolan, Chief Executive Officer and President of Eversource Energy.
Source: Business Wire