NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the state has selected Sunrise Wind, a joint venture between Ørsted and Eversource, to negotiate an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) agreement for an 880 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm. This project along with the state’s other offshore wind project selected represents the largest commitment to offshore wind in the U.S.
Sunrise Wind will support Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s bold and ambitious climate and clean energy goals which he signed into law today. The project is expected to support approximately 800 jobs through the project’s development, construction and operation and will supply more than half a million New York homes with offshore wind power. Sunrise Wind will also enter negotiations with New York State contractors and trade labor organizations on a Project Labor Agreement to cover construction activities for the Sunrise Wind project, and is committed to paying prevailing wages.
“Today’s announcement secures New York’s role as a leader in the North American energy transformation,” said Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and President of Ørsted North America. “Sunrise Wind will ensure that the state and its residents not only benefit from clean, renewable power, but that they reap the rewards of being an early player in a growing industry.”
In addition to powering homes and businesses across New York, Sunrise Wind will bring strong investment to Suffolk County, Long Island. Ørsted and Eversource have committed to investing $10 million to create a National Workforce Training Center in partnership with Suffolk County Community College and leading labor unions. This investment will further the goals of New York’s National Offshore Wind Training Institute and Community and Workforce Benefits Fund. The two companies have also announced a plan to construct a new Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Hub in the greater Port Jefferson area, which would include dockage for a 250-foot service operation vessel, with a warehouse and office facility to be located in the vicinity. Construction and operation of the O&M Hub is expected to create over 100 new fulltime jobs in the state.
“Sunrise Wind will bring renewable energy and new economic development to New York,” said Lee Olivier, Executive Vice President of Enterprise Energy Strategy at Eversource. “We look forward to partnering with New York State as a clean energy leader in the Northeast as well as with the local communities and businesses on Long Island and throughout the state.”
The project owners have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with New York’s preeminent transmission developers, Con Edison Transmission and the New York Power Authority, who will support the development of the transmission facilities needed to deliver the offshore wind energy to the electric transmission grid.
“Under Governor Cuomo’s aggressive clean energy vision, we, at NYPA, are committed to doing our part via public-private partnerships to expedite the development of offshore wind in New York State,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “As the nation’s largest public power utility, NYPA brings its vast experience in owning and operating more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines across the state to this exciting new wind project. We look forward to working with Ørsted, Eversource and Con Edison to connect the clean energy produced offshore to the State’s onshore electricity grid. We are pleased to stand at the forefront with our partners in bringing zero carbon energy to our shores and our state.”
“Offshore wind will be an instrumental part of our region’s renewable energy future, and Con Edison is fully committed to proposing efficient ways to build the upgraded transmission system needed to meet the state’s offshore wind goals,” said Joseph Oates, Chairman, President and CEO of Con Edison Transmission.
Alicia Barton, NYSERDA President and CEO, said, “Today, New York made the single largest commitment to offshore wind by a state in U.S. history to grow our clean energy economy, combat climate change and achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality. Ørsted and Eversource Energy’s Sunrise Wind project will bring tremendous economic development and job creation opportunities to New York, further solidifying our national leadership on pressing environmental and energy issues in support of Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading policies.”
The offshore wind turbines for Sunrise Wind will be supplied by Siemens Gamesa who have signed a conditional contract to cover Ørsted and Eversource’s Northeast project portfolio totaling approx.1.7GW. The projects Sunrise Wind (880MW into New York), Revolution Wind (704MW into Rhode Island and Connecticut) and South Fork Wind Farm (130MW into Long Island, New York) will be covered under this supply agreement.
Sunrise Wind will be developed 30 miles east of Montauk Point, Long Island, adjacent to Eversource and Ørsted’s South Fork Wind Farm and Revolution Wind projects. Subject to contract signing and Ørsted and Eversource’s final investment decisions, the wind farm is expected to be operational in 2024.
About Sunrise Wind
Sunrise Wind is a proposed New York State offshore wind project, to be located over 30 miles east of Long Island’s Montauk Point.Carefully planned to help achieve Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s nation-leading offshore wind and renewable energy goals, and to do so with the highest possible levels of public support, the Sunrise Wind project will be virtually unnoticeable to Long Island residents and beach goers, and will have the potential capacity to power more than half a million homes.
Sunrise Wind represents a partnership between Eversource and Ørsted, which combines Eversource’s more than 100 year presence in the Northeast, industry-leading financial strength, and regional transmission development expertise with Ørsted’s world class offshore wind development capability having built the world’s first, the world’s largest, and the U.S.’s first offshore wind farms. Sunrise Wind is also exclusively joining with Con Edison Transmission and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to offer New York an opportunity to develop hundreds of megawatts of 100 percent renewable energy.
About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,080 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2018, the group’s revenue was DKK 76.9 billion (EUR 10.7 billion). For more information on Ørsted, visit orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
About Eversource
Eversource (NYSE: ES) transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas and supplies water to approximately 4 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Recognized as the top U.S. utility for its energy efficiency programs by the sustainability advocacy organization Ceres, Eversource harnesses the commitment of its more than 8,000 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and water with superior customer service. For more information, please visit the company’s website (www.eversource.com) and follow along on Twitter (@EversourceCorp) and Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceEnergy). For more information on water services, visit www.aquarionwater.com.
About NYPA
NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. NYPA owns and operates approximately one-third of New York’s high-voltage power lines. These lines transmit power from NYPA’s three large hydroelectric generation facilities and independent wind power generation facilities, connecting nearly 7,000 megawatts of renewable energy to New York State’s power grid. This includes connecting more than 6,300 megawatts of hydroelectric power and about 700 megawatts, or more than a third, of current New York State‑generated wind energy to the grid. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information, visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn.
About Con Edison
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues and $54 billion in assets. The utility delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to 3.5 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. For financial, operations and customer service information, visit conEd.com.
