Haugland gets $200M-plus wind-farm cable contract

Developers of the Sunrise Wind project have awarded Long Island’s largest wind-farm contract to date to Melville-based Haugland Group for construction of a 17½-mile cable from Smith Point to Holbrook.

The $200 million-plus project, which will run along the William Floyd Parkway and the Long Island Expressway, 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 will start in September and is slated to be substantially complete in 15 months, by the end of 2024.

“We believe this project on Long Island and the way we’ve structured it will allow everybody’s boat to rise just that much more,” said Billy Haugland, chief executive, noting the contract is also among the company’s largest. He said the work will include a campaign of public information that will include outreach to homeowners and businesses along the route to tell them what’s coming and a website dedicated to the project.

Sunrise Wind, a $4.2 billion initiative being developed by Orsted of Denmark and Eversource Energy of New England, is slated to bring 924 megawatts of offshore wind power to Long Island as part of a state- and LIPA-managed plan to transition from mostly natural-gas burning plants to green energy by 2035. The project is expected to produce enough energy to power around 600,000 homes, the developers say, or around half of LIPA's 1.2 million customer base.

Last month, Sunrise Wind and Brookhaven Town announced a $168.9 million community benefit package for using local roadways and Suffolk County parkland that will primarily benefit Brookhaven Town and local communities.

Earlier this year, Sunrise Wind and Brookhaven's Industrial Development Agency announced an agreement for the town to provide more than $90 million in tax breaks for cable construction and an operations center in East Setauket. The package includes a tax break of up to $24 million on the purchase of construction materials and equipment and $63 million in property-tax savings during operation of the wind farm. By the time it's built and operating, Sunrise Wind is to spend nearly $500 million on the work and employ more than 2,200 construction workers.

Eversource Energy, the project co-owner and a New England utility that has long expertise in transmission projects, called the award "one of the largest offshore wind [contract] announcements ever made in the United States." 

“We’re excited to once again pair our 100 years of regional transmission expertise with the exceptional, hardworking, and trusted team at Long Island’s Haugland Group,” Eversource chief executive Joe Nolan, who is also chairman and president, said in a statement. "Together with our state partners, we are committed to building a new clean energy future for the Empire State that will provide not only significant new benefits for local communities but also greater economic opportunity for workers.”

“Sunrise Wind’s transmission system construction contract with Haugland Group is a great example of how offshore wind is creating new opportunities for local businesses today, said David Hardy, chief executive of Denmark-based Orsted's Americas unit. 

Haugland said the 400 jobs expected to be created for the project could be just a starting point, and local contractors, including a recycling company on Horseblock Road and others, will be among those Haugland plans to work with to finish the job. 

Doreen Harris, president and chief executive for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which awarded the original contract for Sunrise Wind, called the construction contract award "a massive win for the offshore wind industry, labor and the development of New York’s in-state supply chain."

The contract and the work will provide a “ripple effect in the entire community,” Haugland said. He also sees opportunities for workforce development from the Long Island region, as well as Brooklyn and Queens, where Haugland is working with New York Mets owner Steve Cohen to sponsor workforce development days at Citi Field.

“We’ll be able to reach in and get that next-generation workforce here,” Haugland said, adding he’d like to see hundreds in union pre-apprenticeship programs to help with work he expects for Long Island.

Haugland said he also has hope that unionized Long Island labor will be able to work on offshore portions of the work, including cable connections at turbines and the offshore converter station.

The land-based work includes excavation and duct-bank construction, cable pulling and construction of the land-based converter station. Haugland works with local labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Locals 1049 and 25.

The contract will require Haugland to use barge and tug vessels to shuttle equipment to Smith Point, as the current bridge set for replacement can’t accommodate the weight.

“All the equipment we need there is so heavy we can’t use the bridge,” Haugland said. Around 10% of the project will involve directional drilling, including under the bay from Smith Point to the mainland, and under the Carmans River. 

Sunrise is the second big wind-farm land-cable project Haugland has secured with developers Orsted and Eversource, which also partnered on the South Fork Wind Farm. Months of work at that East Hampton cable project came in ahead of time and on budget, despite years of opposition by area neighbors who had pushed for a different route.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

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