A joint venture between Eversource Energy and Danish energy company Ørsted won a re-bid for the ready-to-build Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm in New York, allowing Eversource to continue moving forward with its plan to sell its 50% stake in the project to Ørsted.
Eversource announced in May 2023 that it planned to exit the offshore wind farm business, selling its 50% interest in three projects, including Sunrise Wind, Revolution Wind and South Fork – all joint ventures with Ørsted.
According to an announcement Thursday, Eversource will remain contracted to lead Sunrise Wind’s onshore construction even after Ørsted becomes the sole owner of the project.
Eversource took a $1.9 billion after-tax impairment charge in 2023 related to its divestment of offshore wind, according to its annual report.
Once the sale is completed, Eversource said it no longer expects to have “any risk exposure related to Sunrise Wind, including abandonment costs that were assumed in its impairment assessment.”
Eversource expects to finalize the sale of Sunrise Wind to Ørsted later this year.
“Sunrise Wind is another major step forward for our shared clean energy future and will deliver significant new investments to New York State, including the creation of hundreds of local union jobs building the project’s onshore transmission system,” said Joe Nolan, chairman, president and CEO of Eversource.
“As we continue to move toward finalizing the agreement to sell our 50% interest in Sunrise Wind, we’re excited to get shovels in the ground and begin the full scope of onshore construction with the important role we’ll play throughout the remainder of this project…”
Sunrise Wind, a 924-megawatt project, is expected to be operational in 2026. Construction will begin this summer, pending necessary approvals.
