Sunrise Wind starts preliminary work for 17.5-mile Brookhaven cable

Sunrise Wind this month began preliminary construction work for a 17.5-mile underground cable for its offshore wind farm through Brookhaven Town, even as its developers await word from the state on whether its contract can be adjusted upward to accommodate ballooning costs.

In filings with the state Department of Public Service in June and July, Sunrise Wind requested and received approval to begin phase-one of construction for the cable, which includes “clearing and construction activities within the project boundary area,” chiefly in Holtsville. 

The state gave its authorization to start construction on July 13. The $4.2 billion project, which promises to power some 600,000 homes, is expected to be operational in 2025.

Meaghan Wims, a spokeswoman for Sunrise Wind, confirmed preliminary construction work had begun, but said bigger work activities wouldn’t come until early next year.

“Sunrise Wind development continues to progress and the project remains on-track” to be operational in 2025, she said. “We expect that the most significant construction activities will begin in early 2024.”

The project includes a 6.2-mile undersea cable in state waters that will make landfall at Smith Point, before it begins its 17.5-mile run along William Floyd Parkway and Horseblock Road to the Long Island Expressway South Service Road before connecting to a LIPA substation in Holbrook. The offshore cable will run more than 100 miles in federal waters to a turbine field set to be built off the Massachusetts/Rhode Island coast. 

For the work on land, Sunrise Wind has confirmed that it has “all materials necessary to commence the phase one work,” according to its state filings. The company said it planned to install erosion and sediment control equipment prior to starting work, which it said it expected to begin on or before July 10.

Work underway includes “civil work” at an onshore converter Station at 608 Union Ave. in Holtsville, and preparation and use of two “laydown yards” at 580 Union Ave., Holtsville, and 60 Zorn Blvd., Yaphank.

Last month, Sunrise Wind’s developers said they “would not be able to obtain a final investment decision allowing it to fully construct the project” unless the state allowed their previously negotiated contract to be adjustable for rising material, construction and other costs. Other wind farm developers, including Empire Wind developers Equinor/bp, made similar requests.

Observers say the state is in a bind to approve the request, which it has already included in a new round of wind farms set to be awarded this year.

“The Public Service Commission is in a no-win position, but what is certain is that whatever choice it makes, offshore wind prices are going to rise, and every New York ratepayer will pay their share of the increase,” James Hanley, a fellow at the fiscally conservative Empire Center think tank in Albany, wrote earlier this month.

But Bob Catell, chairman of the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium, said those cost questions won’t stop the projects.

“Offshore wind energy projects are very important to our energy future and will go forward,” he said. “As with any other major development, there may be some bumps along the way that need to be overcome.”

Separately this week, the Brookhaven Town Industrial Development Agency said it closed on an agreement that will provide more than $90 million tax breaks in support of Sunrise Wind’s land-based construction, which will support hundreds of local jobs. The package includes $87.4 million in tax savings for construction of the converter station and cable duct banks. It also includes $2.6 million in tax breaks for an operations center in East Setauket.

In April, Newsday reported that Sunrise Wind awarded Long Island’s largest wind-farm contract to date to Melville-based Haugland Group for construction of the cable. The $200 million-plus contract is expected to bring more than 400 jobs during construction and provide the region with an economic boost through use of regional contractors, food vendors and workforce development. Work is slated to be substantially complete in 15 months, by the end of 2024, Haugland said.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

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