US BOEM approves Bay State Wind plan off Massachusetts

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has approved the offshore wind Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for the Bay State Wind project in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

This is the first time BOEM issues an approval of an offshore wind SAP, according to a news release. The move allows the project developers to deploy a floating LiDAR WindSentinel system to measure wave and wind speeds in the lease area.

Danish utility Dong Energy A/S (CPH:DENERG) and New England transmission builder Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) are the developers of the particular offshore wind project. Dong Energy sold a 50% stake in the scheme to Eversource in December 2016.

The proposed offshore wind farm will be located in an area that has the potential to develop at least 2 GW of capacity. The Danish energy major will lead the development and construction of the offshore generation and transmission assets, while its US partner is expected to be in charge of onshore work.

Late last month, three Massachusetts utilities, including Eversource, issued a request for proposals (RfP) to sign long term-contracts for 400 MW and potentially up to 800 MW of offshore wind generation. Interested parties are required to submit a notice of intent to bid by July 26. Bay State Wind plans to submit a proposal for the Massachusetts contracts, according to the statement.

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