Vineyard Wind Partners With Local Environmental Contractor To Conduct Current & Tidal Monitoring
Woods Hole Group Deployed Equipment at the End September, Will Collect Data for Two Complete Lunar Tide Cycles
*Photo of TRBM units
(NEW BEDFORD, MA) – Vineyard Wind today announced that the company is working with, Woods Hole Group, a local environmental contractor, to deploy current measuring and turbidity monitoring devices along the export cable corridor. Working with Woods Hole Group, the company hopes to gain insight and data that will influence the planning and engineering of the cable installation. Woods Hole Group utilized the local research vessel (R/V) Catapult, a 35-foot boat owned by Marine Imaging Technologies based out of Cataumet, Massachusetts, to deploy the instrumentation.
“We often talk about the positive direct impacts the offshore wind industry will have on the US economy, but it’s important to not overlook the benefits that will be derived by existing local companies who can expand their portfolio of work to accommodate this growing industry,” said Vineyard Wind’s Chief Development Officer, Rachel Pachter. “We’re proud to partner with the Woods Hole Group on this important piece of data collection and look forward to working with many other maritime industry businesses for the foreseeable future.”
Woods Hole Group CEO, Bob Hamilton, stated “Helping to bring clean, renewable energy to our region is an objective we are pleased to advance and is a core mission for our business.”
Woods Hole Group supplied specialized instrumentation for the project, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and turbidity monitoring devices which will be deployed within specially designed Trawl Resistant Bottom Mounts (TRBM) units. The instrumentation was placed at various points throughout Muskeget Channel and Nantucket Sound, long known for extremely high tidal velocities, particularly during the flood and ebb tides. Eventual landfall for the export cables will occur at Covells Beach in Barnstable.
The instruments have been deployed to collect observations for up to 60-days, or two complete lunar tidal cycles. Upon completion of the measurement campaign, Woods Hole Group will again utilize the R/V Catapult to assist with the recovery of the devices from the seabed. Woods Hole Group will download the captured data from the instruments for processing and will provide it to Vineyard Wind to facilitate planning of the various marine works associated with the 501N project.
*Photo of Catapult, the 35-foot research vessel.
Woods Hole Group is an international environmental services and products organization headquartered in Massachusetts that offers a range of coastal, ecological, and oceanographic consulting services, along with products for collecting ocean measurements, ocean forecasting, tracking wildlife with satellite communications, and vessel monitoring systems (VMS) for fisheries management.
Vineyard Wind, an 800 megawatt (MW) project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, is slated to be the first commercial scale offshore windfarm in the United States. The project will generate cost-competitive electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tons per year.
###
About Vineyard Wind:
Vineyard Wind is a 50/50 joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc (NYSE: AGR), is a leading developer of renewable energy projects with ~7.5 GW of operating wind and solar projects in the United States. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is a fund management company founded in 2012, which currently has six funds and more than $8 billion under management.
About Woods Hole Group:
Woods Hole Group is an international, environmental scientific and engineering consulting organization headquartered in Bourne, Massachusetts. With its breadth of vision and emphasis on a sustainable future global environment, Woods Hole Group is focused on resilient solutions for shorelines, wildlife, sustainable fisheries, and healthy oceans in a changing climate. For more information, visit: www.woodsholegroup.com.