The U.S. Department of the Interior has approved the 924-MW Sunrise Wind project, and owners Ørsted and Eversource Energy have reached a final investment decision on it, according to a Tuesday release.
The Interior Department’s Record of Decision issuance concludes the National Environmental Policy Act review process. The developers’ next goal is to receive final approval on its construction and operation plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Ørsted and Eversource said they expect that approval this summer.
The Biden administration has now approved seven offshore wind projects with more than 8 GW of total capacity, the Interior Department said. In 2021 President Joe Biden established a federal goal of deploying 30 GW of U.S. offshore wind generation by 2030.
A release from the Interior Department said that the Sunrise Wind project will contain fewer wind turbine generators than the developers had originally proposed. This decision was made by BOEM in response to “comments from government partners, key stakeholders, and the public.”
“This decision aims to accommodate geotechnical feasibility of the project, reduce impacts to benthic habitat and Atlantic cod, and meet the energy needs of New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” the department said. Benthic habitat refers to the habitat at the bottom of a body of water. The lease area is located roughly 16.4 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; 26.5 miles east of Montauk, New York; and 14.5 miles from Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island.
The project’s contract was rebid in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation in January. That solicitation was offered to allow developers to rebid contracts that had become financially nonviable due to recent economic turbulence in the offshore wind industry.
Ørsted agreed in February to acquire Eversource’s 50% share of Sunrise Wind after receiving full final approval for the project and after an Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate, or OREC, contract with the state was signed. Ørsted will become the project’s sole owner, but Eversource will “remain contracted to lead the project’s onshore construction,” according to the companies.
Having jointly taken a final investment decision on the project, Ørsted and Eversource said they have “[solidified] the commitment to build the project, and will now advance with some important onshore construction activities.”
The companies are “finalizing agreements” regarding the project’s OREC contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; Sunrise Wind is still estimated to become operational in 2026, the release said.
Liz Burdock, CEO of Oceantic Network, said in a Tuesday release that the announcement, “along with NYSERDA’s award of offtake for the project, are enabling offshore wind to thrive in the region and build momentum across the nation.”
“The Network applauds this announcement, along with BOEM’s flurry of recent actions, for allowing the offshore wind industry to build a consistent supply chain and move projects from concept to reality,” Burdock said.
