First-Ever ‘Made in USA’ Offshore Substation to Be Built for South Fork OWF

The developers of the South Fork offshore wind farm, Ørsted and Eversource, have selected Texas-based Kiewit Offshore Services to design and build the offshore substation for the project, with the work scheduled to start in November.

The offshore substation for New York’s first offshore wind farm will be the first-ever to be built in the US.

Kiewit expects to complete the work by spring 2023, before sending off the substation from its facility in Ingleside, near Corpus Christi, across the Gulf of Mexico and up the East Coast for installation at the South Fork Wind site in the summer of 2023.

The work on the 1,360-tonne (1,500 tons), 18-metre-tall (60 feet) offshore substation will be done by more than 350 workers across three states as the fabrication workers in Ingleside will be supported by teams in Houston and Kansas.

“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”, said Joe Nolan, Chief Executive Officer and President of Eversource Energy. “Our partnership with Kiewit marks another significant milestone for the U.S. offshore wind industry and signals the growth of the next great maritime industry throughout the country. We are committed to creating a clean energy future and fostering opportunities for all Americans”.

“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.

The 132 MW South Fork offshore wind farm, which will comprise twelve 11 MW wind turbines, has now moved to a few steps away from completing the federal permitting process and getting the go-ahead for construction.

Namely, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on 16 August, and expects to issue a record of decision (ROD) on the project in October.

Ørsted and Eversource said that South Fork Wind remained 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.