South Fork Wind Farm Construction and Operations Plan

Abstract

This South Fork Wind Farm and South Fork Export Cable Construction and Operations Plan (COP) is being submitted by South Fork Wind, LLC (SFW or the Applicant)1 to support the siting and development of the South Fork Wind Farm (SFWF) and the South Fork Export Cable (SFEC), collectively the Project.

The SFWF includes up to 15 wind turbine generators (WTGs or turbines) with a nameplate capacity of 6 to 12 MW per turbine, submarine cables between the WTGs (Inter-array Cables), and an offshore substation (OSS), all of which will be located within federal waters on the outer continental shelf (OCS), specifically in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0517 (Lease Area),2approximately 19 miles (30.6 kilometers [km], 16.6 nautical miles [nm]) southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 35 miles (56.3 km, 30.4 nm) east of Montauk Point, New York. The SFWF also includes an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) facility that will be located onshore at either Montauk in East Hampton, New York, or Quonset Point in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

The SFEC is an alternating current (AC) electric cable that will connect the SFWF to the existing mainland electric grid in East Hampton, New York. The SFEC includes both offshore and onshore segments. Offshore, the SFEC is located in federal waters (SFEC – OCS) and New York State territorial waters (SFEC – NYS) and will be buried to a target depth of 4 to 6 feet in the seabed. Onshore, the terrestrial underground segment of the export cable (SFEC – Onshore) will be located in East Hampton, New York. The SFEC – NYS will be connected to the SFEC – Onshore via the sea-to-shore transition where the offshore and onshore cables will be spliced together. The SFEC also includes a new Interconnection Facility where the SFEC will interconnect with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) electric transmission and distribution system in the town of East Hampton, New York.

The approximate location of the entire Project is shown on Figure ES-1. The landing site options and route variants of the SFEC – Onshore are shown on Figure ES-2. The Project is scheduled to be installed starting in 2022 , and to be commissioned and operational by the end of 2023.

The Project components and locations presented in this COP have been selected based on environmental and engineering site characterization studies completed to date and will be refined in the Facility Design Report (FDR) and Fabrication and Installation Report (FIR), which will be reviewed by BOEM pursuant to Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 585.700-702 before the commencement of installation. In addition, a Certified Verification Agent (CVA), approved by BOEM, will conduct an independent assessment and verify that the Project components are fabricated and installed in accordance with both this COP and the FIR.

The purpose of the Project is to generate electricity from an offshore wind farm located in the Lease Area and to transmit it to the East Hampton Substation. The Project addresses the need identified by the LIPA for new sources of power generation that can cost-effectively and reliably supply the South Fork of Suffolk County, Long Island, as an alternative to constructing new transmission facilities. The Project will also help LIPA achieve its renewable energy goals. The Project will enable SFW to fulfill its contractual commitments to LIPA pursuant to a Power Purchase Agreement executed in 2017 resulting from LIPA’s technology-neutral competitive bidding process.

This COP includes the following information:

  • An overview of the Project, including details on the regulatory framework in which the Project will be reviewed, a description of the agency and stakeholder outreach, a tentative schedule and other key project information requested by BOEM (Section 1);
  • A summary of the siting and route selection process for both the SFWF and SFEC, including a siting history, details on steps taken to identify and evaluate potential SFEC routes, and description of technologies and installation methods considered (Section 2); 
  • A description of all planned facilities, including onshore and support facilities; and all proposed activities, including construction activities, commercial O&M, and conceptual decommissioning plans (Section 3); 
  • A characterization and assessment of potential impacts during construction, O&M, and decommissioning activities, which will support relevant project reviews and consultations (Section 4);
  • A list of supporting references and citations, organized by COP section (Section 5); and
  • Additional supporting information provided in appendices (Appendix A to Appendix BB3), some of which include references to Deepwater Wind South Fork, as the previous name of the Applicant.

This COP was prepared in accordance with 30 CFR § 585. BOEM is expected to be the lead federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For activities related to the SFEC – NYS and SFEC – Onshore in New York State, the New York Public Service Commission will lead the review of the Project activities under Article VII of the New York Public Service Law.

In addition to the federal and state level permits, the Project must also comply with applicable provisions of the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammals Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Air Act, the Rivers & Harbors Act, and the Clean Water Act.

Volume I

Volume II - Appendices

  • Appendix A: Coastal Zone Management Consistency Statements (New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts)
  • Appendix B: South Fork Wind Farm Fisheries Communication and Outreach Plan  (Updated May 7, 2021)
  • Appendix C1: Certified Verification Agent Nomination: Qualifications Statement (Confidential)
  • Appendix C2: Certified Verification Agent Nomination: Verification Plans (Confidential)
  • Appendix D: Oil Spill Response Plan (Confidential)
  • Appendix E: Safety Management System: Construction (Confidential)
  • Appendix F: Project Supplemental Information (Updated February 2020)
  • Appendix G1: Offshore—Plan and Profile Set 
  • Appendix G2: Offshore—Conceptual Drawings (Updated May 2019)
  • Appendix G3: Sea-to-Shore—Conceptual Drawings  (Updated May 7, 2021)
  • Appendix G4: Onshore—Plan Set 
  • Appendix G5: Onshore—Conceptual Drawings (Updated May 2019)
  • Appendix H1: Integrated Geophysical and Geotechnical Site Characterization Report 
  • Appendix H2: Geophysical Survey and Shallow Hazards Report 
  • Appendix H3: Geotechnical Data Report 
  • Appendix H4: Sediment Profile Imaging and Benthic Survey Report (Updated May 2019)
  • Appendix H5: Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) Desktop Study 
  • Appendix H6: Deep Geotechnical Survey Report 
  • Appendix I: Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Modeling Results 
  • Appendix J1: Acoustic Assessment Report—Underwater (Updated March 2021)
  • Appendix J2: Acoustic Assessment Report—In Air (Updated May 2019)
  • Appendix J3: Acoustic Assessment Report—Onshore (Updated February 2020)
  • Appendix K1: Offshore Electric and Magnetic Field Assessment 
  • Appendix K2: Onshore Electric and Magnetic Field Assessment 
  • Appendix L: South Fork Wind Farm and South Fork Export Cable Air Emissions Inventory— Calculations and Methodology (Updated July 2020)
  • Air quality modeling report (July 2021)
  • Appendix M: South Fork Export Cable - Onshore Biological Resources Report 
  • Appendix N1: Pre-Construction Sediment Profile and Plan View Imaging Benthic Assessment Report (Updated May 2019)
  • Appendix N2: South Fork Wind Benthic Habitat Mapping to Support Essential Fish Habitat Consultation
  • Appendix O: Essential Fish Habitat Assessment (Updated May 2019)
  • Appendix P1: Assessment of Impacts to Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, and Sturgeon (Updated March 2021)
  • Appendix P2: Animal Exposure Modelling (Updated March 2021)
  • Appendix P3: Protected Species Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (March 2021)
  • Appendix Q: Avian and Bat Risk Assessment 
  • Appendix R: Marine Archaeological Resources Assessment, Deepwater Wind - South Fork Wind Farm and Export Cable, Rhode Island And New York
  • Appendix S1: Phase 1 Archaeological Survey South Fork Export Cable - Onshore Cable & Substation
  • Appendix S2: Phase 1B Archaeological Survey South Fork Export Cable - Beach Lane Route A
  • Appendix T: Historic Architectural Resources Survey, South Fork Export Cable Onshore Substation 
  • Appendix U: Visual Resource Assessment, South Fork Export Cable Onshore Substation 
  • Appendix V: Visual Impact Assessment, South Fork Wind Farm (Updated June 2020)
  • Appendix W: Historic Resources Visual Effects Analysis, South Fork Wind Farm (Updated January 2021, now Confidential)
  • Appendix X: Navigational Safety Risk Assessment (Updated March 21 2021)
  • Appendix Y: Commercial and Recreational Fisheries Technical Report 
  • Appendix Z: South Fork Wind Farm MetOcean Conditions Report (Confidential)
  • Appendix AA:  Economic Development and Jobs Analysis for the South Fork Wind Farm and the South Fork Export Cable 
  • Appendix BB1: Historic Resources Visual Effects Analysis - Operations and Maintenance Facilities
  • Appendix BB2: Archaeological Assessment - Operations and Maintenance Facilities
  • Appendix BB3: Montauk O&M Facility In-Water Work
This document is related to the South Fork Wind Project Site.