Source: Canary Media

Excerpt:

America’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm is finally finished, marking an important milestone in what’s shaping up to be a busy year for the emerging U.S. industry.

On Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced the completion of South Fork Wind, a 132-megawatt project by Danish energy giant Ørsted and Boston-based utility Eversource. All 12 of the wind farm’s towering turbines are now in place and producing enough clean electricity to power roughly 70,000 homes in Long Island, New York.

“With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future,” Hochul said at an event in the waterfront town of Southampton, which was also attended by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

Construction on South Fork Wind last year represented a rare bright spot for the otherwise embattled U.S. offshore wind sector. Financial hardships and logistical challenges in 2023 hammered project developers, including Ørsted, leading to the delay or cancellation of around 12,000 megawatts (12 gigawatts) of offshore wind farms.

Read more: The first big US offshore wind farm is open — here’s what’s next