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Empire Wind 1 is moving full speed ahead, with wind turbine foundations now visible off the coast of Long Island.
The project will feature 54 turbines located 15 to 40 miles southwest of Long Island.
Each will generate 15 megawatts of power, which will be sent to an offshore substation. From there, two submarine cables will carry the electricity onshore to a substation in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, providing power to 500,000 homes starting in 2035.
“Our offshore construction for the remainder of this year will essentially be what you’re seeing with those nubs in the water that are the installation pieces and the foundation, and next summer is when we would actually be erecting the towers and the blades,” said David Schoetz, senior communications manager at Equinor Renewables Americas.
The current phase involves installing foundations on top of a rock layer placed on the seabed to create a stable base and protect against erosion.
The monopile foundations — large cylindrical structures spotted by beachgoers and boaters — serve as both the base for the turbines and the entry point for cables that will carry power to the offshore substation.
Top: Screen grab of a video taken by Brandon Weitz on Instagram/courtesy.
Other wind projects underway
“There are four wind turbine projects off the coast of Long Island, which are Revolution (closer to Rhode Island), South Fork, which is completed, Sunrise, and Empire 1 Wind,” said Matty Aracich, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. “Out of all four projects, the building trades, with only 12 turbines operational, have generated more than 3 million man hours. It is expected when all four are completed that it will exceed 9 million man hours in construction.”
Ørsted, the company behind Sunrise Wind, began construction of its wind farm 30 miles east of Montauk Point. Workers are currently pulling cables through 17.4 miles of a land-based duct bank. The line will connect to the electric grid at the Holbrook Substation, providing 924 megawatts of electricity to power about 600,000 homes.
The offshore cable will run under roadways to the Holbrook converter station, then connect underground to the existing grid at the Holbrook PSEG Long Island Substation. The project is expected to be operational in 2027.
Wind energy already flowing
South Fork Wind became New York’s first operational offshore wind farm in December 2023. The 12 turbines, located 35 miles east of Montauk Point, produce 132 megawatts of energy — enough to power 70,000 homes on Long Island.
“Offshore wind farms are connected to the electrical grid using submarine transmission cables that are attached to offshore wind turbines,” according to SouthForkWind.com.
“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 follows existing roadways and utility routes to a substation in East Hampton, where the power is delivered to the grid. That project was completed in March 2024.
