The U.S. Department of the Interior 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 in the east of Montauk, New York.
With a 25-year contract scheduled to end in 2026, New York state re-contracted the $1.5 billion project earlier this year to supply power at about $150 per MWh. It had first been hired in 2019, but withdrew after unsuccessful 2023 energy deal price negotiations with state officials.
Long Island-based Haugland Energy Group LLC was awarded a $200 million contract to install its transmission link underground conduit bank system. the department said, with work underway. Other contracts include $86 million with Riggs Distler & Co., has an $86 million contract for steel fabrication of turbine foundation components.
The project would land at Smith Point County Park in Brookhaven, New York, with a new converter station and an expanded existing substation to be located in Holbrook, New York. The facilities also include an operations and maintenance center in East Setauket, New York, and a new port facility in Port Jefferson, New York
Developers said the project, which is being built under a union labor agreement, will create 800 construction jobs.
The approved construction and operation plan stipulates a distance of one nautical mile for the turbines and mitigation actions to protect marine habitats and species.
Eversource sold its 50 percent stake in the project to Orsted in April, but will lead construction on the ground under a separate contract as a service provider with no ownership interest, the companies said. Sunrise Wind is the first offshore wind project in the United States to use high-voltage direct current transmission technology, they also claimed
The Massachusetts-based utility’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 the private investor Global Infrastructure Partners, which is now being acquired as an asset. investment firm BlackRock.
South Fork began supplying power to Long Island earlier this year.
Revolution Wind is the first large offshore wind project to provide power to Rhode Island, about 400 MW, with 304 MW for Connecticut. Work has recently been completed to install the first monopile foundation for the 65 planned turbines, each of 11 MW. The construction team aims to install most of the monopiles this year. An onshore substation being built in North Kingstown, RI, would be completed in 2025.
