April 12, 2021, by Nadja Skopljak
US Wind has kicked off oceanographic survey activities within the lease area offshore Maryland where it plans to build its MarWin offshore wind project.
The team will be collecting data until July to inform project design, including foundation type, turbine location, and cable burial routes.
The geophysical survey operations will be conducted along a tartan-pattern survey grid by marine research vessels R/V Brooks McCall and the R/V Miss Emma McCall, operated by TDI Brooks.
US Wind said it has also committed to minimizing impacts on marine life during the survey operations.
Expert observers will be aboard each vessel to monitor the presence of protected species, such as the North Atlantic Right Whale, and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect these species, the company said.
K2 Management will be supporting US Wind with project management during the development of the project’s first phase with an installed capacity of 270 MW. The scope also includes design and engineering and package management, including tender and negotiation support.
US Wind’s MarWin project could bring as much as 1.5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity to Maryland. The company holds the rights for the Maryland Wind Energy Area under a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease of approximately 80,000 hectares, located 16 to 48 kilometres off the state’s coast. In 2017, US Wind was awarded Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) for the first phase of its MarWin project.