Offshore Wind Transmission Project Takes Another Step with Interior Action

WASHINGTON, DC (December 2011) – Continuing its significant momentum supporting offshore wind energy, the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) learned today that the Department of Interior has completed its internal review process for the Right-of-Way application for AWC’s offshore wind backbone transmission project.   The announcement signals that Interior has completed an internal evaluation that deems AWC’s Right-of-Way filing is ready for public review.  Interior will now publish a notice in the Federal Register, opening a 60-day comment period to solicit expressions of competitive interest for the use of certain areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to construct an offshore transmission system, as well as comments from all stakeholders.

“We are appreciative of Secretary Salazar’s and the Department’s continued leadership on renewable energy such as offshore wind,” AWC Chief Executive Officer Bob Mitchell said.  “This is another important step to advancing new opportunities for federal and state economic development and environmental and renewable energy policy objectives.”
“The Mid-Atlantic region’s offshore waters hold vast opportunities for wind energy production. The Atlantic Wind Connection turns these opportunities into a reality, offering an offshore superhighway that allows large-scale development of this strategically important clean, domestic energy resource,” said Markian Melnyk, president of Atlantic Grid Development, AWC’s development company. “Compared to each wind farm building its own transmission lines, our project is the most affordable, efficient, and environmentally-sensitive solution for connecting offshore wind.”
The notice advances public and private efforts to develop areas in the Atlantic for offshore wind energy. The AWC project will be built in several phases designed to link Offshore Wind Energy Areas identified by the Department of Interior and complement the progression of the Mid-Atlantic offshore wind industry while maximizing grid reliability and the most efficient use of existing electric generation plants.  Currently, AWC continues to advance in other areas of the project as well.  These include preparing the project’s General Activity Plan (GAP) filing, which is expected to be ready in 2012; significant project engineering; and continued transmission planning with regional grid operator PJM and the Mid-Atlantic states.
Last month, public opinion polls in three Mid-Atlantic states showed strong support for developing offshore wind resources.  They also indicated that voters in each state were willing to pay more in their electricity bills for offshore wind and want their public officials to develop transmission plans to deliver future offshore wind development to shore.
AWC is the first offshore backbone electricity transmission system proposed in the United States. The project configuration will enable up to 7,000 megawatts of offshore wind turbine capacity to be cost-effectively integrated into the regional power grid operated by PJM Interconnection, increasing system reliability and reducing congestion costs in the heavily-congested corridor between Virginia and the metropolitan New Jersey/New York City area. This cutting-edge, high-voltage, direct-current subsea backbone transmission system would be constructed off the coasts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
The project ultimately will span roughly 300 miles of state and federal waters from the northern New Jersey/New York City metropolitan area to Virginia. In preparing the application, nearly 9,700 square miles of the OCS were examined in a process that included extensive analysis of the offshore marine environment, seafloor conditions, conflicting uses, wrecks and obstructions, cable and other infrastructure crossings, protected species, cultural resources, geologic and geotechnical hazards and public safety. AWC also modeled wind speeds, offshore turbine foundation costs and wind turbine output to discover the optimal places to locate offshore wind farms within the offshore areas BOEM has designated for wind energy projects. This analysis eliminated 75% of the initial area from consideration and focused on the most productive and lowest impact areas.