Ørsted, Eversource take FID on Sunrise Wind following US green light

Partners in the 924 MW Sunrise Wind project have taken a final investment decision (FID) in the project after the US Department of Interior gave it the all-clear.

After the US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) gave the project a record of decision Ørsted and Eversource announced they have jointly taken an FID for the project. The partners will now advance with onshore construction activities.

Earlier this year, Ørsted bought Eversource’s 50% stake in the Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm, becoming the project’s sole owner. The acquisition is subject to signing an OREC contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, finalisation of acquisition agreements, COP approval, and other relevant regulatory approvals. Eversource will remain contracted to lead the project’s onshore construction.

New York State recently selected Sunrise Wind to negotiate a 25-year contract to provide reliable green energy to the state. The project is currently finalising agreements with NYSERDA regarding its offshore wind renewable energy certificates contract. 

The Sunrise Wind offshore wind project will be the US’ seventh approved commercial-scale offshore wind project under current leadership. These seven projects have the potential to provide more than 8GW of clean, renewable energy to power roughly 3m homes, and support the nation’s goal of deploying 30GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

Located approximately 48 km east of Montauk, New York, Sunrise Wind is expected to be the country’s largest offshore wind farm upon completion, generating enough renewable energy to power nearly 600,000 New York homes. The project will support more than 800 direct jobs each year during the construction phase and about 300 jobs annually during the operations phase. The project is anticipated to be operational in 2026.

“New York is already home to the trailblazing South Fork Wind project, and with Sunrise Wind we’ll build on that foundation, broadening the economic benefits of offshore wind while delivering far more clean renewable power,” said David Hardy, EVP and CEO of Region Americas at Ørsted.