US Department of Energy (DOE) proposed to provide funding to Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) to construct and operate a 20.7 MW offshore wind project (Project Icebreaker), approximately 8 miles offshore of Cleveland, Ohio in Lake Erie.
US DOE concluded to this decision after a federal review of the project that spanned more than two years.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Namely, DOE has published a final Environmental Assessment (EA) for Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation’s Project Icebreaker, after the review found no significant environmental impacts of the project. Specifically, the report states that the project would not significantly affect migratory birds.
In fact, based on the analysis presented in the final EA, DOE has determined that providing federal funding to Lake Erie Economic Development Corporation in support of Project Icebreaker ‘would not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment’.
As a result, DOE also issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed action. An environmental impact statement will not be prepared.
Icebreaker Wind will be a 6 turbine, 20.7 megawatt offshore wind demonstration project 8 miles from downtown Cleveland in Lake Erie. It will be the first freshwater offshore wind project in North America.
