Story at a glance
- New York state recently broke ground on a major wind energy project.
- Officials expect the South Fork Wind project, which will consist of 12 turbines off the coast of Long Island, will generate enough energy for 70,000 homes.
- The wind project is the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project to be approved in the country.
New York broke ground last week on its first offshore wind project that is expected to generate enough power for roughly 70,000 homes on Long Island, officials said.
“The harsh impacts and costly realities of climate change are all too familiar on Long Island, but today as we break ground on New York’s first offshore wind project we are delivering on the promise of a cleaner, greener path forward that will benefit generations to come,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a statement.
The South Fork Wind project will be made up of 12 turbines connected to Long Island’s electric grid, with operations expected to begin in 2023.
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The endeavor is a major step toward increasing both New York’s and the nation’s wind capacity since the country currently only has two functioning wind farms with a combined capacity of 42 MW, according to The Verge.
South Fork is the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project to be approved in the country and is expected to eliminate more than 6 million tons of carbon emissions over the next 25 years, Hochul said. That number is the equivalent of removing 60,000 cars off the road each year for the next two and a half decades.
“New York is setting the example for the nation on tapping into the potential of offshore wind to help meet our energy needs while the state transitions to a cleaner, greener energy future,” Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement.
“South Fork Wind is an exciting and transformative project that will help achieve our state’s ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ramp up renewable energy sources while safeguarding our natural resources and driving new economic opportunities here on Long Island and across the state.”
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