Biden administration approves the nation’s 7th large offshore wind project

March 27, 2024 Associated Press

The first operating South Fork Wind farm turbine, Dec. 7, 2023, stands east of Montauk Point, N.Y. AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File

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The Biden administration greenlit the seventh large offshore wind project in the United States Tuesday.

Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource plan to build a 924-megawatt project, Sunrise Wind, 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk, New York. They say the wind farm will power about 600,000 New York homes when it opens in 2026.

This month, the companies opened the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind is 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk. They announced their financial commitment to the Sunrise Wind project when the Interior Department issued its decision.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the opening of South Fork and the approval for Sunrise Wind shows “the sky is the limit for offshore wind.”

Combined, these seven projects can provide more than 8 gigawatts of clean, renewable energy to power roughly 3 million homes, the Interior Department said. The Biden administration wants enough offshore wind energy to power 10 million homes by 2030.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Tuesday’s approval is another substantial step toward fulfilling the nation’s clean energy goals.