"Offshore Milestone as Feds Back Vineyard Wind Project"

Source:

https://www.powermag.com/offshore-milestone-as-feds-back-vineyard-wind-project/

"The first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S. has received the go-ahead from the federal government,

with industry insiders saying the milestone decision is likely to spur more rapid development of the nation’s offshore wind projects.

The Vineyard Wind installation, an 800-MW project that will use GE’s Haliade-X turbines,

on May 11 received the Record of Decision (ROD) from the U.S. Dept. of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The ROD is the last major step in the federal review process for Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

“Today’s Record of Decision is not about the start of a single project, but the launch of a new industry,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen in a statement.

... The project has gone through a four-year public review process.

The Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the installation was reviewed by more than two dozen federal, state, and local agencies over the course of more than three-and-a-half years.

The project is sited about 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

“This is a historic day for clean energy and for our country that has been over a decade in the making,” said Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, in an email to POWER.

“Today we launch a brand-new source of home-grown energy for Americans. Vineyard Wind is at last cleared to deliver clean power to Massachusetts and jobs and investments for the region.

... This map shows the location of the Vineyard Wind 1 project, about 15 miles from Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts:

The installation will include 62 Haliade-X wind turbines, each with a 13-MW capacity.

The project originally was designed to use 108, 9.5-MW turbines from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.

The project’s designers in December 2020 withdrew their application for federal approval, saying more time was needed for a technical review due to the change in turbines.

Industry insiders at the time said the withdrawal likely also was made to ensure the project’s blessing from the Biden administration, which was seen as more favorable to offshore wind than the outgoing Trump administration.

... The project’s turbine layout, which features consistent spacing of one nautical mile between turbines, in an east-west direction, was endorsed by the United States Coast Guard for transit, fishing and navigational safety.

Concerns from commercial fisherman about the impact of the wind farm on their industry were among the reasons cited by government officials as they called for an extended environmental review of the project.

A final federal decision on the project originally had been expected in August 2019.

The Vineyard Wind project will use GE’s Haliade-X turbine.

... The project’s developers late last year said they expected to reach financial close on Vineyard Wind in the second half of this year, with commercial operation expected to begin in 2023.

The developers reached a transmission agreement with ISO-New England, the regional grid operator, in October.

The first and thus far only commercially operating U.S. offshore wind farm is Ørsted’s 30-MW Block Island installation, which is located offshore Rhode Island.

... these projects can be developed fairly close to many of the very biggest U.S. metropolitan areas, including those major Midwest cities near the Great Lakes, where wind generation is often more than sufficient for electrical generation.”

... The project’s extensive environmental review included direct engagement with neighboring communities, environmental organizations and advocates, fisheries organizations, and governmental and tribal entities.

Vineyard Wind has incorporated several mitigation measures, including protections for the North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW), including comprehensive monitoring protocols to ensure that construction doesn’t take place when NARWs are near the lease area.

The project will utilize acoustic monitoring technology throughout construction, including in transit corridors. and will employ trained protective species observers to spot NARW visually during transits and foundation installation.

... The project also is making investments in fisheries, and in mitigation funding.

It has agreements with the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island to provide funds to compensate fishermen for potential loss of revenue, and gear and to enhance their ability to fish in and around the lease area.

It also is committed to funding pre- and post-construction survey studies with both the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology, and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, to measure any impacts of the wind farm on the marine environment."

... The project also is incorporating cultural and historical protections. It will use an Aircraft Detection Lighting System, or ALDS, to ensure that nighttime lights will only operate a few hours a year when aircraft are present.

The turbines will be painted to reduce visual impacts to historical properties.

... “We are very proud to have been part of developing this landmark project,” said Christian T. Skakkebæk, a senior partner and co-founder of CIP, in an email to POWER.

“Vineyard Wind 1 is slated to become one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects, creating significant investments and good paying jobs in the U.S."