The US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published the official notice for comment on Anbaric’s proposed New York and New Jersey OceanGrids project. The advancing the projects along in the federal approval process.
The OceanGrids will connect the offshore wind energy sought by New York and New Jersey to on-shore grids via offshore collector platforms and cables buried underwater and underground. An OceanGrid is a critical infrastructure to build an offshore wind industry in the U.S.
The proposal follows the selection of onshore points of interconnection which according to Anbaric have been designed to minimize the project footprint and impacts to commercial fisheries and marine species. The OceanGrid project will serve as a foundational infrastructure in support of the offshore wind industry.
The application for a non-exclusive right-of-way proposes a phased installation of the OceanGrid in each state, scheduled to meet the needs of the evolving offshore wind industry. BOEM will review comments on Anbaric’s application and determine whether there is competitive interest in acquiring the requested grant areas. Anbaric has begun environmental, social, and commercial impact studies for the transmission system described in its application.
“Anbaric welcomes this initiative from BOEM and we look forward to our right-of-way application moving through this review process, a critical step in allowing us to build the foundation for deploying renewable power at a meaningful scale,” said Edward Krapels, CEO of Anbaric. “We applaud BOEM for taking every step to ensure the long-term success of the offshore wind industry.”
Anbaric stated is the first to present to BOEM a planned transmission system for both New York and New Jersey, and to file and advance its application to use federal waters for underwater cables to connect New York and New Jersey offshore wind to shore.
“This right-of-way application for an open-access transmission system in federal waters will advance ambitious offshore wind goals while minimizing impacts on the ratepayers and the environment,” said Janice Fuller, president of Anbaric’s New Jersey OceanGrid.
“Our BOEM application underscores the need for planned, open-access transmission infrastructure to ensure the rapid growth of the offshore wind industry,” said Kevin Knobloch, president of Anbaric’s New York OceanGrid.