LEEDCo, the developer of North America’s first freshwater offshore wind farm, has decided it will use six MHI Vestas Offshore Wind’s (MVOW’s) 3.45MW wind turbines for its Icebreaker project.
When asked by Offshore WIND about the decision to switch from Siemens 3MW turbines, Lorry Wagner , President of the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), said: “MVOW is our preferred supplier for Icebreaker, but no contract has been signed. It was a decision made after carefully evaluating the AEP [annual energy production] of all turbines in this class as well as the number of similar WTGs deployed offshore.”
Regarding the project’s progress, Wagner said that the current work is focusing on the electrical and cable design, cable route, foundation engineering, and permitting, while ensuring everything is going according to plan as the project moves toward construction.
Last week, the company selected Middough Inc. to provide engineering services for the design and construction of the land-based electric facilities needed to connect the Icebreaker offshore wind farm to the Cleveland Public Power (CPP) Lake Road substation.
In May, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced it will re-allocate around USD 80 million in funding, initially intended for projects off Oregon and Virginia, to support LEEDCo’s Icebreaker and the University of Maine’s New England Aqua Ventus I projects, saying they ”have demonstrated significant progress toward being successfully completed and producing power.”
With DOE proposing to authorize federal funding to LEEDCo to design, permit, construct and decommission the 6-turbine project, it is requesting public input on the scope of an Environmental Assessment for Icebreaker and will hold a public scoping event tomorrow (28 September), together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
Offshore WIND Staff