The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of the proposed Sunrise Wind energy project, about 16.4 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, about 0.5 nautical miles east of Montauk, New York, and 14.5 nautical miles from Block Island, Rhode Island. BOEM estimates the proposed 924-MW project will power more than 320,000 homes with renewable energy.
“We carefully considered input from our government partners, key stakeholders, and the public for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Sunrise Wind,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “This document represents a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the project and is another milestone in achieving President Biden’s ambitious clean-energy goals.”
Sunrise Wind LLC’s submitted plan includes up to 94 wind-turbine generators (WTGs) and their associated export cables. The onshore export cables, substation, and grid connection is in Holbrook, New York. The lease area covers about 86,823 acres.
In response to comments from government partners, key stakeholders, and the public, and after considering project feasibility, BOEM developed a preferred alternative that includes fewer turbines (84 WTGs) to accommodate geotechnical feasibility of the project, reduces impacts to benthic habitat and Atlantic cod, and meets the energy needs of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior has approved the nation’s first six commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects. BOEM has held four offshore wind-lease auctions, which have brought in almost $5.5 billion in high bids, including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
More info www.boem.gov
