The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said it has begun its environmental review of the 880-megawatt (MW) Revolution Wind offshore wind project of the U.S. East Coast.
The agency on Thursday announced a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project's Construction and Operations Plan (COP).
The publication of the NOI opens a 30-day public comment period. During this time, BOEM will hold three virtual public scoping meetings and accept comments to inform the preparation of the EIS. “Public input plays an essential role in identifying and mitigating any potential impacts from proposed energy development activities,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “BOEM is committed to ensuring that any future offshore wind development is done safely and responsibly, and with the benefit of feedback from critical stakeholders.”
The Revolution Wind is being developed by 50-50 partners Ørsted and Eversource. Their proposal includes the installation of 100 turbines off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut, up to two offshore substations and up to two export cables. The turbines would have monopile foundations, and the offshore substations would have monopile and jacket foundations.
The Revolution Wind project would be in federal waters approximately 17.4 nautical miles (20 statute miles) south of Rhode Island. The Revolution Wind export cable would make landfall at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, R.I., and would interconnect to the electric transmission system via the existing Davisville Substation, which is owned and operated by National Grid, located in North Kingstown.
President Joe Biden's administration has set a target of 30 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind energy by 2030.
"Advancing review of projects and creating greater certainty is critical to get the investments necessary to create a robust supply chain and to build this nascent industry in the United States to fight climate change and create good-paying jobs," BOEM said.