Eversource eyes 'exit' from offshore wind projects affecting Long Island

Eversource, a 50-50 partner in at least two offshore wind projects destined for Long Island, said it expects to announce a “clean exit” from its interests in the business by the end of June.

Eversource’s chairman and chief executive Joe Nolan, on a conference call with Wall Street analysts, said the company has a shortlist of two parties to buy its interest in three contracted offshore projects it owns with partner Orsted of Denmark, and 175,000 acres of uncommitted wind-lease areas off the New England coast.

The projects include South Fork Wind, a 130-megawatt project with energy set to make land at Wainscott later this year, and Sunrise Wind, a 924-megawatt project with a 17-mile cable set to make land at Smith Point in 2025. Eversource is also a partner in Revolution Wind, a project slated for the New England grid. They have also proposed Sunrise II and Revolution II projects. 

Nolan declined to name the parties expected to buy its offshore wind interests or disclose a potential price, other than to say, “I think that at the end of the day it will be a very good outcome for Eversource and Eversource’s shareholders," according to a transcript on financial website, Seeking Alpha. 

Eversource, a New England electric utility with a long expertise in land-based transmission work, brought that expertise to bear in the planning and build-out of the South Fork project, and planning for Sunrise. 

In both cases, Eversource helped the partnership overcome the sometimes acrimonious opposition that can swell around such projects, while helping to meet construction milestones.

South Fork Wind on Monday announced that it had completed the onshore construction work for the 4.1-mile land cable, which had been beset by years of complaints and lawsuits by neighbors who worried about its impacts. Most of the work was done by the Haugland Group, a Melville-based construction firm, with project management by Burns & McDonnell, a longtime Eversource partner.

Earlier this month, Haugland announced it had also won the $200 million-plus contract to construct the 17-mile Sunrise Wind land-based cable and infrastructure. 

Haugland chief executive Billy Haugland said he expects any potential Eversource asset sale to be "invisible" from his company's perspective.

"It's our expectation that Eversource will still see the [South Fork and Sunrise] projects through to completion and remains steadfast in its commitment toward Long Islanders and our green-energy future," he wrote in a text.

An Eversource statement cautioned a "final decision on whether to divest has not been reached," but that appeared to be news to Nolan. 

Asked by analysts if there was any possibility of Eversource retaining even a portion of the wind-farm assets, Nolan said, “No … It’s not a strong possibility. We see a path for a clean exit from this. So that’s not, that’s definitely not the case.”

After the divestiture, Eversource is expected to continue to play a role in the interconnection of offshore wind throughout the New England region, Nolan said.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.