Resurfacing work is underway on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, where the southbound lanes are being repaved as part of a restoration effort linked to the Sunrise Wind project. Danish energy conglomerate Ørsted, the project’s parent company, is covering the full cost of the work, which also includes nearby neighborhood streets impacted by the installation of underground cables.
Legislator Jim Mazzarella stressed that local taxpayers are not footing the bill. “The community experienced months of disruption during the cable installation, and this resurfacing project is meant to restore the roadway and neighborhood streets to like-new condition,” Mazzarella said. In addition to the parkway, resurfacing has been completed on Havenwood Drive, Riviera Drive and other roads along the route.
The paving comes as Ørsted crews continue pulling transmission cables through underground conduits that will connect Long Island’s power grid to Sunrise Wind’s turbines, now under construction in federal waters off Montauk. Much of the land-based work in Brookhaven is finished, with cables being routed to a converter station in Holtsville.
Still, Sunrise Wind’s future is uncertain. Ørsted has filed plans to raise more than $9 billion through a stock offering, including $6.3 billion designated for completing the Long Island project. That figure far exceeds earlier cost estimates of $4 billion, raising concerns about the project’s viability and impact on ratepayers.
Ørsted’s filings cite unforeseen soil conditions, supply chain strains, and delays tied to a Trump administration stop-work order on Revolution Wind, a sister project, as threats to Sunrise’s future. Its new completion target is late 2027.
Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano cautioned against Gov. Kathy Hochul issuing a taxpayer-funded bailout. “It’s bad enough the ratepayers will be forced to pay the exorbitant costs of Sunrise Wind. Taxpayers shouldn’t be left holding the bag if this project falters,” he said.