Watching the construction of the Sunrise Wind project at Smith Point Park, I think back to my days as a reporter covering the Shoreham nuclear power plant debacle in the 1980s. Atomic energy was supposed to be clean, efficient, and “too cheap to meter.” Instead, it became a monstrous financial penalty for Long Islanders, topping more than $23 billion—and still counting.
To believe that the current slate of politicians and bureaucrats pushing the Green New Deal can deliver Sunrise Wind without once again killing ratepayers strains credibility.
With 84 turbines planned roughly 123 miles away off Montauk Point, Sunrise Wind is the largest offshore wind project in the country. The towers themselves are massive—three times taller than the Statue of Liberty. Politics tainted the project from the very beginning by siting the turbines far enough away so they couldn’t be seen from the mainland, a decision that will cost ratepayers dearly.
Neither Ørsted, the Danish company building the turbines, nor the Hochul administration will say how much the project will ultimately cost. One thing, however, is certain: Long Island ratepayers will be footing the bill. We received a telling clue earlier this month when Ørsted, unable to farm out a portion of the project to other companies, turned to its shareholders with a massive $9.4 billion rights offering. Two-thirds of that—$6.27 billion—is earmarked for Sunrise Wind.
Last year, the Long Island Power Authority reported that it is in the final stages of paying off the Shoreham debt. More than $300 million is still owed, bringing the final tally for that colossal energy mistake to roughly $23.5 billion. Many now believe the current Sunrise Wind rate deal is insufficient to cover the project and provide a return for Ørsted’s investors, raising fears that a taxpayer-funded bailout is inevitable. As one reader recently put it: “Don’t do it, Kathy.”
Truth be told, seeing Governor Hochul throw a few billion dollars Sunrise Wind’s way would not surprise me—not as much as her recent admission that New York’s energy needs can no longer be met by wind and solar alone and will now rely on the very source long condemned by her party: nuclear power.