Sunrise Wind Cable Work Nears
Work has begun on the 124-mile cable to connect the Sunrise Wind electric generating turbines to the mainland from their location off Montauk Point. Work crews have mustered at the Shirley Marina to facilitate the construction of the 17.5-mile land route from Smith Point Park to a switching station in Holtsville as part of a massive effort to create green energy for Long Island.
The aged condition of the Smith Point Bridge, slated to be replaced in 2026, has caused logistic challenges for the project by requiring barges to transport heavy equipment across Narrow Bay to Fire Island. The Haugland Group of Melville was selected by the wind farm developers, Denmark’s Ørsted corporation, to build the vital cable link to serve up to 600,000 homes.
Lines about three feet wide have been marked out along the parkway’s west shoulder all the way across the Long Island Rail Road tracks to Montauk Highway, where it will turn west toward its final destination. The lanes of the parkway along the cable route will be repaved. Brookhaven Town and Suffolk County are scheduled to receive $170 million in impact fees over the anticipated 25-year life of the 84 turbine generators, each standing more than 300 feet tall.
Portions of the Shirley Marina have been cordoned off to facilitate the cable project and provide a disembarkation point for the tugs and barges involved in the effort. While the green energy plan has been hailed as a step toward reducing the need for fossil fuels in an effort to affect climate change, the ultimate cost of the Sunrise Wind project and its impact on ratepayers have raised concerns.
The project, expected to create about 800 construction jobs and 100 permanent positions, is projected to be completed in 2026. While Ørsted officials decline to provide a total cost for the project, they say it will generate $700 million in economic activity along with 2,000 indirect jobs.
The windmill effort will also include a $37 million Sunrise Wind headquarters in East Setauket, a $5 million Research and Development Partnership with Stony Brook University, a $10 million National Wind Training Center in Brentwood, and a new Service Operations Vessel, the 262-foot Eco Edison, to be docked at Port Jefferson.