The U.S. Interior Dept. on June 21 approved construction by developers Orsted and Eversource Energy of New York’s largest offshore wind project, the 924-MW, 84-turbine Sunrise Wind to be located east of Montauk, N.Y.
Set to finish in 2026, the estimated $1.5-billion project, under a 25-year contract, was recontracted earlier this year by New York State to supply power at the strike price of $146 per MWh. It had been contracted first in 2019 but withdrawn after unsuccessful power price negotiations in 2023 with state officials.
Long Island-based Haugland Energy Group LLC was awarded a $200-million contract to install its transmission link underground duct bank system, the department said, with work now underway. Other contracts include $86 million with Riggs Distler & Co., which has an $86-million contract for steel manufacturing of turbine foundation components.
The project would come ashore at Smith Point County Park in Brookhaven, N.Y., with a new converter station and expanded existing substation to be located in Holbrook, N.Y. Facilities also include an operations and maintenance hub in East Setauket, N.Y., and new harbor facility in Port Jefferson, N.Y.
The developers said the project, being built under a union labor agreement, will create 800 construction jobs.
The approved construction and operations plan stipulates one nautical mile spacing for turbines and mitigation actions to protect marine habitats and species.
Eversource sold its 50% project stake to Orsted in April but will lead onshore construction under a separate contract as a service provider with no ownership interest, the firms said. Sunrise Wind is the first U.S. offshore wind project to use high-voltage direct current transmission technology, they also claimed.
The Massachusetts-based utility firm’s stakes in two other New York offshore wind projects with Orsted—the 704-MW Revolution Wind and the already operating 132-MW South Fork Wind—are being sold to private investor Global Infrastructure Partners, itself now being acquired by asset investment firm BlackRock.
South Fork began supplying power to Long Island earlier this year.
Revolution Wind is the first major offshore wind project to supply power to Rhode Island, about 400 MW, with 304 MW for Connecticut. Work was recently completed to install the first monopile foundation for the planned 65 turbines, each 11 MW. The construction team aims to have most monopiles installed this year. An onshore substation being built in North Kingstown, R.I., would be completed in 2025.
