South Fork Wind Construction Archive

Offshore wind farms are connected to the electrical grid using submarine transmission cables that are attached to offshore wind turbines. Energy passes through the cables to an offshore substation, and is then transported to shore via subsea cables. These cables run deep beneath the beach, remaining buried along the entire length of the coastal zone, avoiding impacts on sensitive habitats.

From there, the buried cable runs along existing roadways and rights of ways, alongside other utility infrastructure, to an inland substation in East Hampton, where energy is delivered to the electrical grid.

Depending on its size, the lifecycle emissions of an offshore wind turbine max out around 15 grams of carbon CO2 equivalent (i.e., carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel sources) per kilowatt-hour. The majority of these emissions occur during the production and construction phases of development.

This is no more than 3.5% of the lifetime emissions produced by common fossil fuels. Power plants burning natural gas can emit between 430 and 760 grams of CO2e per kilowatt-hour. Coal-fired plants fare even worse, producing up to 1,700 grams of CO2e per kilowatt-hour.

While Ørsted is working to reduce the carbon intensity of wind turbine production, lifecycle assessments show offshore wind to be the cleaner alternative.

When South Fork Wind reaches the end of its lifecycle, the turbines will be decommissioned and removed from the ocean. The materials making up the turbines will then be recycled.

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are a combination of electric and magnetic fields of force. EMF are generated wherever electricity is transmitted or used (e.g., by household appliances, electric wiring, power lines).

EMF are typically localized. In the case of offshore wind farms, offshore and onshore cable systems are often the source of EMF. They are strongest closest to the point at which the fields originate and decrease rapidly in strength the farther they are from the source.

We perform a modeling analysis on our cables to ensure that any EMF emissions are below required thresholds.