Five U.S. offshore wind companies made their recommendation to the US Coast Guard(USCG), in order to adopt a uniform layout of wind turbines, placed at north to south columns and east to west rows. The project goals to offer safer navigational corridors to fishermen or other maritime users, when passing through one area to the other.
Spaced one nautical mile apart, all the turbines will allow a safer transmit from one point of the New England’s wind energy area to the other. “This 1×1 nm layout has been confirmed through expert analysis to allow for safe navigation without the need for additional designated transit lanes” said the members of the association, while they noted that the wide spacing between structures will aid to accommodate search and rescue operations.
According to the wind companies, the project of the uniform layout came after the several requests they’ve received from fishing interests and stakeholders in meetings. Namely, behind the turbine grid proposal are the Orsted, Equinor, Vineyard Wind, Eversource and Mayflower Wind.
Moreover, the group announced that the plan will benefit generally fishing vessels, which are on their way to and from fishing points, offering them about 400 feet in length boats and enough space to navigate safe.
At the moment, the US Coast Guard is making an extensive research on port access routes, estimating the need of constructing routing measures in the wind lease areas.
The Coast Guard was concerned that dissimilar array layouts may present a veritable obstacle course through which mariners must navigate. The solution jointly proposed here would address both Coast Guard issues and preserve navigation safety.
…as the consortium said.
On the other hand, Fisheries Survival Fund reported that the scallop fishing industry has its disagreements on the new grid proposal. Specifically, they argue that the project does not benefit their position at all, since scallop fishermen don’t transit on east-west or north-south orientations.
We fish on contours based on depth, and we transit on geographic diagonals to and from our fishing grounds. Simply put, we were not consulted on this proposal, have not supported this proposal in the past, and do not support it now.
…Fisheries Survival Fund reported.
Concluding, the proposal attracted the business group’s National Ocean Association (NOIA) attention. The Association represents offshore oil and gas and offshore renewables contractors.
The five New England offshore wind leaseholders – which include several NOIA members – are offering a viable solution to questions regarding navigational safety, fisheries considerations, distinct transit corridors and the facilitation of search and rescue operations.
… said NOIA President Erik G. Milito.
