The 200-turbine, $4.5-$5 billion Deepwater Wind Energy Center replaces the developer’s proposal for a 350MW, 100-turbine project off Rhode Island, announced two years ago.
Deepwater has also proposed to build a $500 million to $1 billion undersea transmission network from Massachusetts to New York, allowing the company to sell its power into multiple states.
The revised project would use 5MW turbines, instead of 3.5MW machines, and Deepwater is considering using larger turbines in its Block Island demonstration project off of Rhode Island, the Providence Journal said. This would allow the developer to reduce the pilot project’s number of turbines, from eight to three.
Deepwater has had meetings with both Areva Renewables and Repower Systems, the newspaper said.
Deepwater has submitted an application to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) for a 270-square-mile area that is the subject of a development agreement between Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Deepwater executives said recent permitting changes announced by interior secretary Ken Salazar influenced the decision to expand the proposal.
