The Connecticut Port Authority and State of Connecticut, together with the offshore wind development joint venture of Ørsted and Eversource, are investing $255.5 million to redevelop the Authority’s State Pier Terminal in the Port of New London. Ørsted and Eversource have contributed $77.5 million to the project.
The terminal upgrades will be substantially completed by spring 2023, at which point terminal operator Gateway will resume port operations and begin receiving offshore wind component deliveries.
As a result of this combined investment in the terminal, Connecticut is at the forefront of the new American offshore wind industry. The State Pier Terminal will be the first operational U.S.-based heavy-lift marine terminal that will accommodate offshore wind towers, nacelles and blades, as well as other maritime cargoes.
Three offshore wind projects commissioned by Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island – a total of approximately 160 turbines, with an output of 1,760 MW (enough to power over 1 million homes) – are scheduled for assembly and delivery from New London. The first of these projects is scheduled for summer of 2023.
- State-sponsored studies for decades have recommended improvements to the terminal to ensure it serves as a significant driver of the state’s maritime economy. These studies also recommended that improvements be funded through a public-private partnership with a long-term lessee serving as a base of revenue generation. That exact scenario is now in place.
- The infrastructure upgrades will transform State Pier into a modern, heavy-lift-capable marine terminal that will meet the requirements of the offshore wind industry and make the site available for a wider range of traditional cargo than ever before.
- The upgrades include the creation of two heavy-lift platforms, each capable of handling loads of 5,000 pounds per square foot (psf). The rest of the terminal’s load bearing capacity has been enhanced to 3,000psf.
- The improvements will benefit the port’s long-term growth by increasing the terminal’s capacity to accommodate heavy-lift cargo for years to come while maintaining its freight rail link.
- Three offshore wind projects, totaling more than 1,760MW, are already scheduled to be delivered from State Pier Terminal in New London:
- South Fork Wind will provide 132 MW of clean, sustainable energy to power 70,000 homes on the South Fork of Long Island, New York. South Fork Wind is scheduled to be operational in 2023;
- Revolution Wind (304MW, State of Connecticut and 400MW, State of Rhode Island) will provide 704 MW of clean, sustainable energy to power 350,000 homes. Revolution Wind is scheduled to be operational in 2025; and
- Sunrise Wind (924 MW, State of New York) will provide 924 MW of clean, sustainable energy to power nearly 600,000 homes. Sunrise Wind is scheduled to be operational in 2025.
- The first U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel, Dominion’s Charybdis, is expected to be sea ready in late-2023 and will deploy first out of State Pier Terminal to support construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind.
- When not supporting offshore wind staging and assembly operations, the terminal will be marketed to other commercial customers for maximum heavy-lift cargo utilization.
