Orsted and Eversource Energy have reached agreement with New York State agencies on the siting of a 138kV alternating current (AC) transmission line that will bring power from the future 130MW South Fork offshore wind farm to the East Hampton substation on Long Island.

“This is an important milestone in advancing a project that will bring clean energy to Long Island, create jobs and spur investments in ports and other vital infrastructure,” said Joe Martens, director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance, an advocacy group based in the state capital Albany.

The six-party Joint Proposal represents nearly a year’s work and includes a host of conditions and mitigation measures that the 50-50 joint venture partners agreed to include in project design and construction.

Signing the pact for New York were the Departments of Environmental Conservation, Parks and Recreation, Public Service, State and Transportation.

With today’s agreement, the transmission siting process now enters its next phase, which involves the submission of written testimony from parties to the proceeding. A final decision on the line is expected by first quarter 2021.

Orsted and Eversource will locate South Fork in a lease area in federal waters southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The nearest of 10 GE Haliade-X turbines will operate about 56 km (34.7 miles) east of Montauk Point, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the US offshore wind regulator.

Plans call for burying the transmission line to a target depth of 1.2-1.8 meters in the seabed and connecting it at East Hampton via a sea-to-shore transition where offshore and onshore cables will be spliced together.

The project includes a new interconnection facility where the transmission line will tie into the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) grid, the only above-ground electrical infrastructure necessary for the wind farm.

After a competitive solicitation, LIPA in 2017 awarded a 20-year power off-take contract for the original 90MW project that was extended to 130MW the following year. The initial 90MW phase power price starts at $160/MWh and $86/MWh for the 40MW balance, both with a 2% annual escalator.

LIPA is buying the energy, capacity, ancillary services, and renewable energy credits from South Fork. This is different than some projects where the contracting entity is only purchasing the RECs, while consumers pay for the other energy attributes through the electric markets. The project will include two new utility-scale battery storage systems.

Orsted in May said coronavirus-related impacts would "very likely" delay South Fork's commissioning date beyond 2022. BOEM is reviewing an updated Construction and Operations Plans the project sponsors submitted in February and July.

A COP describes plans for construction, operations and conceptual decommissioning under a commercial wind lease.

Wind

South Fork project reaches export cable siting pact with New York