Anbaric has filed an application with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for the development of the Southern New England OceanGrid offshore transmission system.
Anbaric is seeking non-exclusive rights-of-way to develop the independent, open-access offshore transmission system, which is said to be designed to maximize the region’s offshore wind resources.
Once approved, the transmission network on the outer continental shelf would link the existing wind lease areas via a common system and deliver the power to the onshore grid.
The system would be developed in phases and anticipates an offshore transmission network connecting up to 16,000MW of offshore wind.
It includes transmission line routes that connect BOEM lease areas directly into Boston, Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, Massachusetts’ South Coast, and Connecticut to provide offshore wind-generated electricity to area residents.
Built out over a period of 20 years, the OceanGrid provides the infrastructure for a clean energy resource that will replace fossil fuels as the foundation of New England’s electric system, Anbaric said.
Anbaric said its application lays out the minimum number of offshore collector platforms (OCPs) and associated transmission corridors to efficiently obtain the maximum amount of clean power from BOEM lease areas off the southern coast of New England.
“It becomes clearer every day that transmission must lead the way towards greater scale, reliability and efficiency, just as it has in Europe. Individual wind farm developers have gotten the industry off to a good start, but we now need a networked grid to minimize conflict and create a truly reliable offshore transmission system that will substantially de-risk wind projects,” said Edward N. Krapels , CEO of Anbaric.
“Anbaric’s Southern New England OceanGrid offers the advantage of reducing the overall footprint and potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of transmission infrastructure.”
According to the U.S. offshore transmission developer, benefits include greater efficiency, more reliability, fewer environmental impacts, and the ability to direct the energy to specific areas.
Once BOEM posts the application in the Federal Register on 1 January 2020, there will be a 30-day public comment period.
Anbaric currently also has an application with BOEM for a New York/New Jersey OceanGrid which remains under review.