Massachusetts has released a detailed assessment of 18 waterfront sites from Boston to Fall River that could be developed to support construction of 1.6GW of offshore wind over the next 10 years.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center commissioned the ports and infrastructure study carried out by Ramboll Environ, Apex and other local engineering companies, the University of Massachusetts (Boston) Urban Harbors Institute and Tufts University.
The full engineering assessment – based on lessons learned from Europe – will be completed this summer.
Massachusetts is trying to attract private investment, jump-start the build-out of infrastructure and catalyze development of a local offshore wind supply chain.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners/Iberdrola, Deepwater Wind and Dong Energy/Eversource intend to build multiple wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with the first projects projected to be operational in the early 2020s.
The three developers have already agreed to use the purpose-built New Bedford terminal for the majority of their staging work.
However the industry will need additional facilities for foundation and transition piece fabrication and assembly, supply chain operations and operation and maintenance bases.
The final report will provide a roadmap for industry investment with in-depth analyses of each site, including engineering, environmental assessment, quay-side data and any upgrades required.
Image: ReNEWS
