Over Half of Sunrise Wind Foundation Components Built, Offshore Construction to Kick Off in 2025

September 16, 2024, by Adnan Memija

More than half of the advanced foundation components for the 924 MW Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm have already been built, as the project gears up for offshore construction in 2025.

Ørsted selected Riggs Distler & Company, a union construction solutions firm with offices in Mt. Vernon and Saugerties, New York, as the general contractor to build the prefabricated components at the Port of Coeymans.

The turbine foundation components, ranging in size from 12 to 120 tonnes each and as tall as 40 feet, include the foundations’ internal and external platforms, railings, anode cages, and other key parts that will attach to the monopile foundations that the wind turbines will be installed upon.

The construction at the Port of Coeymans is covered by a Project Labor Agreement with the Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council, with more than 120 tradespeople from local unions contributing to the construction of these advanced foundation components.

In addition to the direct economic impact at the Port of Coeymans, Ørsted’s partnership with Riggs Distler is creating opportunities for companies and workers across New York. LJUNGSTRӦM LLC, of Wellsville, in Alleghany County, New York, manufactured the steel components in Western New York.

The work underway to construct these large turbine foundation components for Sunrise Wind represents more than USD 86 million investment by the developer into New York’s offshore wind supply chain, said Ørsted.

This work is expected to create more than 230 jobs in areas such as construction and steel manufacturing. According to Ørsted, Sunrise Wind is a key part of the company’s plan to invest USD 20 billion by 2030 building up America’s clean energy industry and supply chain.

“Today we celebrate the transformation of the Port of Coeymans which is now among the first ports in the country to be mobilized for the construction of advanced foundation components for an offshore wind farm by U.S. workers,” said Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The 924 MW Sunrise Wind project is creating 800 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs in the state, and will power nearly 600,000 New York homes and businesses, said the developer.

In July, Ørsted broke ground on the onshore, underground transmission system that will connect Sunrise Wind to Long Island’s electric grid. The project’s onshore construction scope is creating more than 400 union jobs on Long Island, led by local contractor Haugland Energy Group.

The project builds on the success on the success of 130 MW South Fork Wind, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, which began operations in March 2024.