A turbine at a large offshore wind farm is producing power for the US grid for the first time

(6 Dec 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY

ASSOCIATED PRESS
New London, Connecticut - 4 December 2023
++DRONE SHOTS MUTE++
1. Drone shot of top and bottom tower sections of a wind farm turbine at State Pier Terminal
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff Martin, Director of Business Development for the Offshore Wind Group at Eversource Energy:
“South Fork Wind is the first utility-scale offshore wind farm to achieve commercial operations here in the United States.”
3. Drone shot through wind turbine blades
4. Various of barge pulling wind turbine components out to the ocean to be assembled
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff Martin, Director of Business Development for the Offshore Wind Group at Eversource Energy:
“Seeing projects like South Fork Wind and others finally come to fruition and represents the culmination of so many years and the work of so many people, not only the offshore wind developers, but regulators here in the United States to combat climate change, to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels. And it's just again, it's there's a great sense of accomplishment and frankly, joy to see these types of projects coming online here in the United States where for so many years and for so many decades, this kind of thing has been happening overseas in Europe and Asia. And to finally see these projects here in the US come to fruition is just very satisfying because it means we're finally starting to do our part to part to combat climate change, to sort of catch up with the rest of the world.”
6. Drone shot of top and bottom tower sections of a wind farm turbine
7. Drone shot of turbine blades on barge
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeff Martin, Director of Business Development for the Offshore Wind Group at Eversource Energy:
“The wind farm itself is being built in a lease area on the outer Continental Shelf. As the crow flies, it's about 25 to 30 nautical miles from where we're standing. These turbines will sit on of monopile foundations and then atop a tower section that, when completed, will be approximately 140 meters above sea level. They are capable of generating about 11 megawatts when the wind is blowing at full capacity and power will come in to the East Hampton substation, which is in East Hampton, New York, which is toward the eastern end of Long Island.”
9. Drone shot of top and bottom wind turbine towers
10. Blades on barge
11. Various of wind turbine nacelles
12. Various of wind turbine components

STORYLINE:
A turbine at a commercial-scale offshore wind farm is producing power for the U.S. electric grid for the first time, a milestone many years in the making.

Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and utility Eversource announced Wednesday they have begun operating the first turbine for their South Fork Wind project. They're erecting 12 turbines 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point, New York. It will be New York's first offshore wind farm. 

The wind farm connects to the onshore electric grid n East Hampton, New York. Ørsted and Eversource say the achievement builds a foundation for the other large U.S. offshore wind farms that will follow. 

So far, two of the 11-megawatt turbines are up, with one fully operational. The second is undergoing testing, then it can begin producing power too. When South Fork opens by early next year, it will be capable of generating 132 megawatts of offshore wind energy to power more than 70,000 homes. 


Turbines began turning off Rhode Island’s Block Island in 2016. But with just five, it’s not a commercial-scale wind farm.






AP video shot by Ted Shaffrey




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