US govt offers ROW grant for Deepwater Wind’s 30-MW

Nov 18, 2014 - The US government on Monday offered a right-of-way (ROW) grant in federal waters to US firm Deepwater Wind LLC for the transmission system to connect its 30-MW Block Island wind farm near the Rhode Island coast.

The ROW corridor will facilitate the installation of a bi-directional submerged transmission cable that crosses federal waters and will connect the turbines with the Rhode Island mainland, the Department of Interior’s (DOI’s) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said in a press release.

After Deepwater Wind and the BOEM finalise the terms and conditions of the grant, the agency will send it to the developer for execution. The company will then have to pay the rent for the first year and provide financial assurance. The BOEM will in turn complete its review of Deepwater Wind’s general activities plan that defines installation works and conceptual decommissioning plans for the transmission network.

Deepwater’s Block island project, worth some USD 250 million (EUR 200m), will include five 6-MW turbines supplied by Alstom (EPA:ALO), which will also service and maintain the machines. The output of the plant is seen at about 125,000 MWh, or enough for more than 17,000 households each year.

In September, the developer obtained final federal approval for the project, enabling it to move beyond initial stages of construction. The 30-MW wind farm is scheduled for completion in 2016.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.801)

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