August 9, 2018
Rhode Island

Cable exposed near shoreline

The Block Island times | 08/08/2018 | www.blockislandtimes.com

An exposed section of the transmission cable is seen here about three feet below the water at low tide. Courtesy photo

The sea2shore transmission cable, installed by National Grid as part of the Block Island Wind Farm project, can now be seen about 25 feet from Town Beach at low tide. The cable, which is yellow and black, was getting some attention on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 8. The cable connects Block Island to the mainland.

There are 34,500 volts running through the cable.

“The cable is fully armored and insulated,” said Block Island Power Company President Jeffery Wright. “That doesn’t take away that to stand on top of it is a little unnerving. Be respectful of it.”

Beachgoers were floating and swimming above the cable, which at low tide was about three feet below the water. The exposed section of cable is also about 100 feet in front of an area marked by 12 white buoys, which has been designated a “no anchor” zone, to warn boaters not to drop anchor onto the section where the cable is not buried deep enough.

Laura Dwyer, a spokesperson for the Coastal Resources Management Council, told The Times that the CRMC “is meeting with National Grid tomorrow morning (Thursday, Aug. 9) on this very issue, and will be addressing a possible solution, or solutions, to this problem.”

The Block Island Times has reached out to National Grid for more details on this story. – Lars Trodson


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/08/09/cable-exposed-near-shoreline/