Orsted South Fork offshore wind farm delivers first power to NY electric grid

By Reuters

DENMARK — Orsted's South Fork offshore wind farm off New York delivered its first power to the state's power grid, according to a press release by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

The announcement is a bit of positive news in what has been a tough year for the nascent industry in the US, which has faced financial troubles in recent months.

"East Hampton has now made history as the first community in New York to receive clean energy from an offshore wind farm," David Hardy, Orsted's head of Region Americas, said in statement.

South Fork, which Orsted is building with Eversource, will eventually consist of 12 Siemens Gamesa turbines with a total installed capacity of 132 MW and is situated 35 miles (56 km) east of Montauk Point in New York. 

The production milestone is welcome news for embattled Orsted, which has faced massive headwinds for other US offshore wind projects forcing it to book large impairments that sent its share price tumbling.

Earlier this year, Orsted had unsuccessfully sought an improved electricity off-take price for its other New York offshore wind farm, Sunrise (924 MW), due to soaring costs that could derail the project.

Offshore wind is expected to play a major role in New York's plan to reduce carbon emissions by getting 70% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It is also a pillar of US President Joe Biden's plan to decarbonize the US power grid and combat climate change.

In November, New York launched a new offshore wind solicitation to help support the development of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, enough to power up to six million homes.

Separately, Avangrid said it completed installation of the first five turbines on its 806-MW Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project offshore Massachusetts as it prepares to deliver first power in the coming weeks.

Avangrid is majority owned by Spanish energy company Iberdrola.

12.06.2023