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With federal approval of South Fork wind farm, construction could begin early next year 

While federal approval was never really in doubt, the proposal faced a rockier path when it came before Rhode Island coastal regulators. The state Coastal Resources Management Council awarded what’s known as a federal consistency certification in June, but the decision came over the objections of fishermen who complained that the wind farm would interfere with their livelihoods. Certification that the wind farm is consistent with state coastal policies also came despite concerns raised by Save The Bay and others about the council’s permitting process for the wind farm, which would be built in an area called Cox Ledge in Rhode Island Sound that is home to a rich diversity of fish, including species of tuna and Atlantic cod.

Credit:  South Fork wind farm construction could begin early next year | Alex Kuffner | The Providence Journal | Nov. 27, 2021 | www.providencejournal.com ~~

PROVIDENCE – A second major offshore wind farm near the Rhode Island coast has won federal approval.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week approved construction and operation of the South Fork Wind Farm, a 132-megawatt project proposed in a stretch of Rhode Island Sound between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

The project being planned by Danish company Ørsted and utility Eversource is only the second commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the nation to secure approval from the federal government.

The first, Vineyard Wind, received a record of decision in May and marked its groundbreaking a week ago in Massachusetts. The 800-megawatt project is being built in an area south of Nantucket, further off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts than the South Fork proposal.

Both projects are significantly larger than the nation’s first offshore wind farm, a 30-megawatt demonstration project that went into operation in Rhode Island waters near Block Island five years ago.

The Block Island Wind Farm, which includes five turbines owned by Ørsted, was built to prove the feasibility of offshore wind in the United States and spur the development of a new clean-energy industry.

With the recent approvals of the larger projects nearby, the Block Island turbines appear to have done their job.

“Just one year ago, there were no large-scale offshore wind projects approved in the federal waters of the United States,” Interior Secretary Deborah Haaland said in a statement. “Today there are two, with several more on the horizon.”

The decision comes amid a push by the Biden administration to develop 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management expects to review at least 16 construction and operations plans for offshore wind projects by 2025, totaling about 19 gigawatts.

Many of the proposals are planned off the New England and mid-Atlantic coasts, but auctions are being prepared for leases off the Carolinas and California. Meanwhile, work is underway to explore potential sales in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Maine.

The South Fork Wind Farm will be about 19 miles southeast of Block Island. Its power, enough to supply about 70,000 homes, will be sent by an underwater cable to Long Island.

While federal approval was never really in doubt, the proposal faced a rockier path when it came before Rhode Island coastal regulators. The state Coastal Resources Management Council awarded what’s known as a federal consistency certification in June, but the decision came over the objections of fishermen who complained that the wind farm would interfere with their livelihoods.

Certification that the wind farm is consistent with state coastal policies also came despite concerns raised by Save The Bay and others about the council’s permitting process for the wind farm, which would be built in an area called Cox Ledge in Rhode Island Sound that is home to a rich diversity of fish, including species of tuna and Atlantic cod.

Ørsted is targeting the end of 2023 to begin operations, and offshore work on the project is set to get underway early next year.

“With the achievement of this critical federal permitting milestone, construction of this historic wind farm is expected to begin in the weeks and months ahead,” said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America.

Fabrication of the wind farm’s offshore substation has already started in Texas. Ørsted and Eversource could begin site preparation for the transmission cable as early as this coming January.

The federal decision allows the developers to install up to 12 turbines.

Source:  South Fork wind farm construction could begin early next year | Alex Kuffner | The Providence Journal | Nov. 27, 2021 | www.providencejournal.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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