First Monopiles In at New US Offshore Wind Farm, Saipem 7000 En Route to Install OSS

The first foundations have been installed at the Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm site in US federal waters off the coast of New York, and the project’s offshore substation (OSS) is also set to be installed soon.

In its report for the first half of the year, the Sunrise Wind owner and developer, Ørsted, said that the monopile installation on the 924 MW offshore wind farm started after the same work was completed on Revolution Wind.

During the earnings call on 11 August, Ørsted’s CEO Rasmus Errboe said that more than 13 wind turbine foundations had been installed at Sunrise Wind and that the installation of wind turbines would start once all turbines are in place at Revolution Wind. The first wind turbines at Sunrise Wind are expected to be installed in early 2026, with the offshore wind farm on track to be commissioned in the second half of 2027.

According to a Notice to Mariners from 18 August, the offshore substation for the Sunrise Wind project will also soon be installed by Saipem’s heavy lift installation vessel Saipem 7000. The vessel’s AIS data available online shows Saipem 7000 is currently crossing the Atlantic on its way from Europe to North America.

The advanced foundation components for Sunrise Wind are being manufactured by Riggs Distler & Company using union labour at New York’s Port of Coeymans.

Sunrise Wind is located approximately 30 miles (approximately 48 kilometres) east of Montauk, New York.

The offshore wind farm will comprise 84 Siemens Gamesa 11 MW wind turbines and will connect to the state’s electricity grid at the Holbrook substation in Brookhaven in Suffolk County.

Sunrise Wind is the first offshore wind project in the US to use an HVDC system.

Ørsted, which initially partnered with Eversource on the project, is now building Sunrise Wind alone and has recently announced a rights issue to raise capital, most of which will be invested in the construction of the 924 MW project, which the company cannot partially divest at this time as per its usual business model.