State offers new momentum for offshore wind power – Cape Cod Times (subscription)

Mary Ann Bragg @MaryAnnBraggCCT

One of three companies with plans to build commercial wind farms south of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard has begun a formal analysis of their lease area.

The start of Bay State Winds site assessment process moves the company a step ahead of its competitors in the federal regulatory permitting process.The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is currently reviewing the site assessment plans of Vineyard Wind and Deepwater Wind for completeness.

Actual construction is still several years away for all three companies.

The projects planned south and southwest of the Islands could be among the first federally authorized offshore commercial wind farms in the country, adding to the five-turbine wind farm in state waters off Block Island.

Were thrilled to be part of this huge step forward for the offshore wind industry in the U.S., said Thomas Brostrom, the North America president of Dong Energy, in a statement.

Dong Energy and Eversource, the New England electric and natural gas utility, recently formed Bay State Wind and leased 187,000 acres of submerged land for wind energy development in federal waters beyond the state's three-mile limit, known as the outer continental shelf, and located between 15 and 25 miles south of Marthas Vineyard. The commercial lease allows five years for the site assessment and 25 years for operation of the wind farm.

With the June 29 federal approval of the site assessment plan, Bay State Wind has installed three moored, data-gathering unmanned buoys in the lease area to collect physical, biological and economic characteristics of the lease area for the next two to four years.Two 21-foot-long yellow buoys employ Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) remote sensor equipment to measure meteorological and environmental conditions primarily related to wind speed and direction.A smaller, round buoy that looks like a bubble in the water will record wave, current and water temperature conditions.

So far, calls from fishermen about the new buoys have largely been inquiries about the technology itself, said John Williamson, who is the companys fishery liaison officer.

I was anticipating getting calls and there have been remarkably few, Williamson said.

Photographs and basic sea conditions information available on a public website have been the biggest attraction, he said.

As part of the conditions attached to the plan approval, Bay State Wind must submit an annual report by Nov. 1 of each year on site assessment activities and results including an annual self-inspection report. Among the conditions of the June 29 approval, the company must list any new sensor equipment and any potential archaeological discovery, such as a shipwreck, and produce an annual report on dead or injured birds or bats for federal officials. Banded bird carcasses must be reported within 30 days.

To protect marine mammals and sea turtles, the company must prevent trash and marine debris from entering the ocean and to prevent vessel strikes of the animals. With North Atlantic right whales, the company must monitor seasonal right whale tracking systems, adhere to vessel slow-down restrictions and keep away from any right whales. If a company vessel that is underway encounters a right whale within 328 feet the vessels engine must be shifted into neutral until the whale passes. If a vessel is stationary in the same circumstances, the engine must be shifted to neutral as well.

Company vessels are to avoid and similarly attempt to protect other nearby whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea turtles, according to the June 29 approval.

The company must also comply with all federal reporting requirements for injured or dead protected species.Bay State Wind has also submitted an oil spill response plan to federal officials.

Vineyard Wind spokesman John Lamontagnesaid the company expects to receive approval in the fall for its site assessment plan.

"Meanwhile we have been analyzing publicly available data from a nearby wind measurement station," Lamontagne said. "Based on this analysis, we are confident that our site has an excellent wind resource."

A representative of Deepwater Wind did not return a request for comment sent on Saturday.

In addition to assessing the potential of their offshore leased areas, the three companies are expected to bid by December on long-term contracts.

On June 29, the states three electric distribution companies issued a request for bids for a total of 400 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation, and potentially up to 800 megawatts, based on an energy bill signed in 2016 by Gov. Charlie Baker. The June 29 solicitation is the first in Massachusetts of what is expected to be a total of approximately 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind energy generation by June 30, 2027.

The three electric distribution companies seeking the bids are Eversource, National Grid and Unitil.

Eversource, in particular, has a dual role in the solicitation processes,by submitting a bid, as Bay State Wind, and reviewing the bids, as a utility company.

In tendering a bid, it is an unregulated affiliate of Eversource that has partnered with Dong Energy to become Bay State Wind, Eversource spokeswoman Caroline Pretyman said. In that role,Eversource will develop the onshore transmission system to complement Dong Energy's offshore generation and transmission expertise.

As a utility company, Eversource will work with the state Department of Energy Resources, other utilities and a third-party independent evaluator to review the bids on behalf of customers, Pretyman said.

"The request for proposals includes a standard of conduct, in addition to our own standards, that serve to ensure fairness involving transactions between and among affiliates," she said.

The state oversees the bidding process and any future contracts are subject to review and approval by the state Department of Public Utilities, with a full public process, Pretyman said.

Follow Mary Ann Bragg on Twitter: @maryannbraggCCT.

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State offers new momentum for offshore wind power - Cape Cod Times (subscription)