June 24, 2024 — Giving the green light for offshore construction of New York’s largest offshore wind farm to begin, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced its approval of Sunrise Wind’s plan for construction and operations. This is the project’s final approval from BOEM, following the Department of the Interior’s March 2024 Record of Decision on the project.
“BOEM’s approval of the Sunrise Wind project represents another step in building a thriving offshore wind energy industry,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “The Biden-Harris administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to advancing responsible projects like Sunrise Wind as part of our strategy to foster good paying jobs for local communities, ignite economic development, and fight the harmful effects of climate change.”
The Sunrise Wind project—to be located south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and east of Block Island, Rhode Island—will have a total capacity of 924 MW of energy that could power more than 320,000 homes per year. The project will support more than 800 direct jobs each year during the construction phase and about 300 jobs annually during the operations phase.
Sunrise Wind will help New York achieve its mandate of 70% renewable electricity by 2030, while accelerating the state’s growing offshore wind workforce and supply chain. Sunrise Wind will create 800 direct New York jobs, thousands of indirect jobs, and economic benefits from the Capital Region to Long Island – including a $700 million investment in Suffolk County alone.
“With the final approval of Sunrise Wind and the recent completion of South Fork Wind, it is clear that New York is leading the nation in building the offshore wind industry,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “We’re grateful for the Biden Administration’s commitment to advancing clean energy projects, and New York will continue to build a green economy, create good-paying jobs, and combat the climate crisis.”