Sunrise Wind farm approved
The project is expected to be the country's largest offshore wind project once completed in 2026.
Image for illustration purposes.
USA, Washington: The Biden administration has approved Ørsted and Eversource’s Sunrise Wind offshore wind facility, which could provide power to more than 320000 homes in New York. The announcement is the latest positive development for the project, which Ørsted warned months ago could fail without a new contract that would cover rising equipment and financing costs. The companies said that they had taken a final investment decision on the project in conjunction with the federal approval and would begin onshore construction.
Sunrise Wind is the seventh offshore wind project approval by the Interior Department, which aims to permit 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 as part of the president’s climate change agenda. The project is expected to be the US’ largest offshore wind project once completed in 2026, and was awarded a conditional contract by New York state officials last month under a program meant to support the embattled industry.
The Interior Department said the project would have a total capacity of 924 MW, and would create 800 jobs during construction and 300 during operations. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved fewer wind turbines than originally proposed to reduce impacts to seafloor habitats and Atlantic cod.
The wind farm will be located about 16 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and 27 nautical miles east of Montauk, New York. Ørsted is negotiating final terms for the project’s 25-year contract, and plans to acquire Eversource’s 50% stake in Sunrise Wind, but the utility will lead the project’s onshore construction.
Source: Reuters
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