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Update on Block Island Transmission System

By: Chris Anderson 22/12/2014 BOEM

General Grid Windfarms

"On Nov. 17, 2014, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting Director Walter Cruickshank announced that BOEM has offered a right-of-way (ROW) grant to Deepwater Wind Block Island Transmission System, LLC (Deepwater Wind) for the Block Island Transmission System (BITS).

We are pleased to inform you that the Right of Way (ROW) grant has been officially executed. "

Right-of-Way Grant Application
BOEM received an application from Deepwater Wind requesting a right-of-way (ROW) grant for an eight nautical mile-long, 200-foot wide corridor in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to connect their proposed offshore wind farm, located in Rhode Island state waters approximately 2.5 nautical miles southeast of Block Island, to the Rhode Island mainland. The proposed offshore transmission connection would also transmit power from the existing onshore transmission grid to Block Island.

Environmental Review
The majority of the activities and permanent structures related to the entire wind farm project will be sited in state waters and on state lands, which means that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the lead federal agency for analyzing the potential environmental effects of the project under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Because a portion of the proposed BITS project would be located on the Offshore Continental Shelf, it required a ROW grant from BOEM. Therefore, BOEM has participated as a cooperating agency in the NEPA analysis and associated consultations led by the Corps. In September 2014, the Corps completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the BIWF and BITS, and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). Before adopting the Corps EA, BOEM conducted an independent review of the EA and determined that no reasonably foreseeable significant impacts are expected to occur as the result of the preferred alternative, or any of the alternatives contemplated by the EA.

On October 27, 2014, BOEM issued a FONSI for the issuance of a ROW grant, and approval of the General Activities Plan (GAP), with modifications.

Issuance of ROW Grant and Approval of GAP
On November 17, 2014, BOEM announced the agency offered the ROW grant to Deepwater Wind (DWW) for the Block Island Transmission System. On December 19, 2014, BOEM executed ROW grant OCS-A 0506 for the Deepwater Wind Block Island Transmission System and approved DWW’s General Activities Plan (GAP) for the project with modifications.

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Update on Block Island Transmission System

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