Construction of the South Fork wind farm, off the coast of Rhode Island, has won federal approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The 132 MW project, planned by Danish business Ørsted and utility Eversource, is just the country’s second commercial-scale offshore wind farm to receive governmental permission.
The first, Vineyard Wind, obtained a record of decision in May and celebrated its groundbreaking in Massachusetts a week ago. The 800-megawatt project is being developed south of Nantucket, further away from the shores of Rhode Island and Massachusetts than the South Fork plan.
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Both projects are much larger than the country’s first offshore wind farm, a 30-megawatt demonstration facility that began operations in Rhode Island seas around Block Island five years ago. The Block Island Wind Farm, which has five Ørsted turbines, was created to demonstrate the viability of offshore wind in the United States and to promote the establishment of a new clean-energy sector.
The Block Island turbines appear to have done their job, based on the recent approvals of larger projects nearby. The decision coincides with the Biden administration’s ambition to create 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates reviewing at least 16 construction and operation proposals for offshore wind projects totaling around 19 GW by 2025.
South Fork wind farm; a large offshore wind farm
“Just one year ago, there were no large-scale offshore wind projects authorized in US federal seas.” “There are now two, with several more in the future,” said Interior Secretary Deborah Haaland in a statement.
Ørsted plans to commence operations by the end of 2023, and offshore construction on the project will begin early next year. “With the completion of this crucial federal permitting milestone, the building of this historic wind farm will commence in the next weeks and months,” said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America.
