Officials hail start of offshore wind energy work in East Hampton

SOURCE:

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/south-fork-wind-farm-hochul-1.50507069

By By Mark Harrington - February 11, 2022

Crews began preliminary work on the roads of Wainscott Friday as a contingent of political and business leaders championed the start of construction of the state’s first offshore wind farm.

"Long Island, you are the first, it’s always great to be first, congratulations," said Gov. Kathy Hochul to kick off a groundbreaking ceremony in East Hampton Friday morning, saying the work was "just the beginning."

The South Fork Wind Farm, which would bring up to 130 megawatts of offshore wind to the East End, powering 70,000 homes, is a small part of the state’s goal of 9,000 megawatts of wind by 2035, or around a third of the state’s energy needs, Hochul said.

Later asked by Newsday about the $2.013 billion cost of the project, one of LIPA’s most expensive, Hochul said, "It’s always more expensive to be the first. Every new form of energy is going to have some initial start-up costs."

But she added, "You’ll eventually see costs come down. This was an important investment."

Read More: https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/south-fork-wind-farm-hochul-1.50507069