January 12, 2021
New York

Wind developers tout safety of transmission cables being constructed in East Hampton

By Caroline Magavern | WSHU | January 11, 2021 | www.wshu.org

Representatives from offshore wind developers Orsted and Eversource met with residents to address their concerns about a high-powered transmission cable that would come ashore from eastern Long Island.

The cable from the South Fork Wind Farm makes landfall at Wainscott Beach in East Hampton, and runs underneath town roads and the Long Island Rail Road corridor to the town substation.

William Bailey is an expert in the health and environmental impacts of electromagnetic fields. He said the electric cables should pose no safety concerns for residents or marine life.

“For magnetic fields, the fields from the cable at the edge of the roadway will be very similar to what we have from the overhead distribution lines that exist today and are found in most every community,” Bailey said.

The cable installation will begin in October with town, state and federal approval, and take five months to complete.

Ken Bowes, vice president of siting and permitting for offshore wind at Eversource, said the community will still be able to enjoy the beach during the construction process that’s planned for October.

“I mean there’s no doubt that during that four, five months when there’s a single lane available, that is constriction. That is gonna be a limitation versus what it is today. But it’s typically going to be the single season, and it’s going to be over quickly, and it’s going to be left as well or better than we found it,” Bowes said.

Bowes said the cable will be buried at least 30 miles underneath the beach, and a sound wall will mitigate the noise impacts of drilling.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/01/12/wind-developers-tout-safety-of-transmission-cables-being-constructed-in-east-hampton/