The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of the proposed South Fork Wind project offshore New York and Rhode Island.
South Fork Wind - proposed by Orsted and Evercore - would be New York’s first offshore wind farm with 12 turbines and a transmission system that will generate enough power for 70,000 homes.
Expected to be operational by the end of 2023, the offshore wind farm will be located 35 miles east of Montauk Point. The underground transmission line will deliver power to the local grid in the Town of East Hampton, NY.
The project will deliver approximately 130 megawatts (MW) of power to the South Fork of Long Island, New York. If approved, it would be the second commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States.
BOEM said Monday that the project, which could create up to 1,700 jobs, and the completion of the environmental review, were "a significant step towards achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of accelerating responsible development of renewable energy on public lands and in offshore waters as a way of tackling the climate crisis and creating union jobs."
Later this week, BOEM plans to publish a Notice of Availability for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register. The EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the activities laid out in South Fork Wind, LLC’s Construction and Operations Plan.
"BOEM is now working with the appropriate parties to finalize the Section 106 consultation process consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act, as well as working with the National Marine Fisheries Service to complete the biological opinion, as required by the Endangered Species Act," BOEM said.
"Once these steps are complete, BOEM plans to issue a record of decision on whether to approve the proposed project in October. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service will sign this record of decision for their respective authorization decisions," BOEM said.