A preliminary geophysical survey within a portion of the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area is set to begin tomorrow with Alpine Ocean deploying the R/V Shearwater at OffshoreMW’s lease area.
This is the first step of data collection and assessment that OffshoreMW and Vineyard Power will undertake within the next several years in this area. Information gathered over the next few years will be used to design a wind farm at the site.
The survey will gather data on seabed and subfloor conditions that will assist in identifying potential locations for future siting of offshore wind turbines. The work is expected to run until the end of October, with details of subsequent phases of the survey to be determined and announced soon.
OffshoreMW holds a 166,886 acre (675 square km) offshore wind energy lease for the OCS – A 0501 lease area, located south of Massachusetts.
At the beginning of 2015, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a competitive offshore wind lease sale in federal waters offshore Massachusetts and named RES America Developments and Offshore MW as the winners of Lease Area OCS-A 0500 and OCS-A 0501, respectively.
In late August, Danish fund management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) acquired 100% of OffshoreMW.