The Beacon Wind offshore wind venture within the US might characteristic suction bucket jacket foundations because the developer – a three way partnership between BP and Equinor which is within the strategy of transferring in the direction of BP taking full possession of Beacon Wind – requested approval to carry out suction bucket assessments as a part of the location investigation actions.
On 2 February, the US Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration (BOEM) revealed a draft environmental impression assertion (EIA) for suction bucket basis assessments on the Beacon Wind lease space which opened a public remark interval that runs till 4 March.
The draft EIA follows an software the developer submitted in March final yr for an modification to the Web site Evaluation Plan (SAP) to incorporate the suction bucket assessments as extra actions as these weren’t included within the SAP beforehand authorized by BOEM in 2021.
Within the doc now up for public remark, BOEM finds the impression of the testing on benthic sources, fishing, and marine wildlife together with fish, marine mammals and sea turtles, from negligible to minor (in a four-level classification scheme from negligible, minor, reasonable, to main).
Based on the draft EIA, putting in suction bucket foundations has environmental benefits over pile driving because it produces much less noise and fewer disturbance for underwater life.
The Beacon Wind lease space is situated greater than 97 kilometres (60 miles) east of Montauk Level and 32 kilometres (20 miles) south of Nantucket, and is being developed in two phases.
BOEM began the allowing course of for the 2 tasks’ Building and Operation Plan (COP) in June 2023.
This primary part, the 1,230 MW Beacon Wind 1, is at the moment below improvement and is deliberate to hook up with the grid in Queens, New York. Beacon Wind 1 already has a 25-year offtake settlement in place with the New York State Vitality Analysis and Improvement Authority (NYSERDA).
The 1,200 MW Beacon Wind 2 will likely be developed at a later date and may very well be related to the grid both in Waterford, Connecticut, or Queens, New York.
The lease space was secured by Equinor, with BP becoming a member of in 2021 the US offshore wind tasks below improvement by Equinor. Now, the companions are restructuring the possession of their joint US offshore wind tasks and, by mid-2024, Equinor will take full possession of the Empire Wind 1 and a pair of tasks and BP will maintain a 100 per cent stake within the Beacon Wind 1 and a pair of tasks.
BP has already employed suction bucket testing within the UK, the place the corporate is growing offshore wind tasks in partnership with EnBW.
As reported on the finish of December 2023, the builders have been getting ready to begin suction bucket trials inside the array areas of the Mona and Morgan offshore wind farm websites, situated off North West England and North Wales.
For the UK tasks, BP and EnBW state of their environmental impression evaluation (EIA) scoping experiences that plenty of basis sorts are being thought of for the 2 proposed offshore wind farms and that the kind(s) for use is not going to be confirmed till the ultimate design, after the tasks are granted consent.
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