Eversource has been awarded the New York Project of the Year from the Engineering News-Record (ENR) for its efforts building the onshore infrastructure for the 132MW South Fork Wind offshore wind project.
The US utility won the Best Project in the Energy/Industrial category and was a finalist for Project of the Year award with two other projects.
Eversource’s work on South Fork Wind focused on installing the underground duct bank system and construction of the onshore substation located in East Hampton, New York.
Eversource president of transmission and offshore wind projects Bill Quinlan, said: “We are incredibly proud to have played a key role in leading the onshore development of South Fork Wind, a truly historic project that has set the benchmark for how offshore wind projects should be built in the United States.
“This achievement reflects the expertise our team brings to the table and the invaluable contribution of New York union labour, whose skills and shared vision for a clean energy future were critical to the success of this project.”
Construction of the project began onshore in early 2022, with the first phase of the work starting at the substation, followed shortly after at the interconnection point on Beach Lane in East Hampton.
Eversource selected Long Island-based contractor Haugland Energy Group to help install the underground duct bank onshore transmission line and to build the onshore interconnection facility located in East Hampton.
This partnership created more than 100 union jobs for Long Island’s skilled trades workers. Additional companies that provided onshore support included LS Cable, Hawkeye, TRC, Hitachi, and Burns & McDonnell.
South Fork Wind was also a catalyst in launching the US offshore wind industry, bringing together workers and expertise from across the country, Eversource.
In Texas, over 350 workers constructed the nation’s first offshore wind substation, the first American-made subsea cable was fabricated in South Carolina, and shipbuilders in New Orleans delivered the country’s first offshore wind service operation vessel.
In addition, workers at the New London State Pier in Connecticut staged and assembled turbine components and workers mobilized at ProvPort in Rhode Island to construct advanced foundation components.
In May 2023, Eversource completed the onshore scope of work and later in the year the first turbine began to spin and delivered power to the grid through the newly built onshore transmission system.
The project consists of 12–11MW turbines and is delivering enough clean, renewable energy to power to approximately 70,000 homes in East Hampton.
ENR awarded 29 projects in 16 main categories to New York Projects.