South Fork Wind Offshore HDD

Michels Trenchless, Inc. used horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to install 2,589 feet of 24-inch-diameter landfall conduit for the South Fork Wind Farm. South Fork Wind is a 132 MW wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island with the export cable landfall in the Town of East Hampton, New York.

Offshore, Michels utilized a lift boat to install offshore piles and goal posts to support the 48-inch surface casing that was used to contain drilling fluid returns. Michels also used a complete HDD setup on the lift boat. Seven other vessels were used to complete the offshore scope of the project, including surveying and transporting equipment, materials, and personnel to the barge, and towing the 2,589-foot pipe string over the water from Rhode Island to the HDD location. The pipe tow and pipe pull-in operation lasted more than 36 hours from the time the pipe was launched into the water in Rhode Island until it was pulled to its final position. The project included 4,500 feet of cable pull-in, 1,500 feet of floating cable and controlled cable sinking.

Onshore construction was completed on a restrictive site ranging from 16 feet to 32 feet in width. Michels erected an 8-foot to 16-foot sound wall around the site to reduce the noise level for the surrounding homes. A single lane was also built around the project site to allow vehicles and pedestrians continuous access.

The 12-turbine wind farm is designed to produce enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes. South Fork Wind earned both Project of the Year and Best Project in the Energy/Industrial category by Engineer News-Record (ENR) New York.