Mott MacDonald advises on first US offshore wind farm
The financial side of the first offshore wind development in the US has been closed, with Mott MacDonald performing the role of lenders’ technical advisor during the due diligence phase of the project. The wind farm which is scheduled for operation late 2016 is expected to power more than 17,000 homes. Mott MacDonald will stay on board of the project as independent engineer.
The Block Island Wind Farm is first offshore development in the US to be established by Deepwater Wind. The Farm is located approximately three miles southeast of Block Island within the boundary of Rhode Island state waters. It is made up of five Alstom Haliade 150-6.0 megawatt turbines for a total of 30 megawatt and is expected to produce 125,000 megawatt hours per year, which is enough to power more than 17,000 homes. The power will be transmitted to the mainland through a 21-mile, bi-directional Block Island Transmission System.
The development of the offshore installation is planned to begin in the summer of 2015, which is scheduled for commercial operation by the end of 2016.
The financial side of the deal was successfully closed after the lender hired Mott MacDonald as its technical advisor during the due diligence phase of the project. “This is a landmark and historic project for the USA and will help accelerate growth in the country’s offshore wind industry going forward. We have been involved on the project for the last two years, from undertaking initial bankability studies to performing the bulk of project financing due diligence,” says Mott MacDonald’s Project Manager Will Lamond. The consulting firm will stay on in an on-going position as independent engineer for the construction phase of the project.
“Mott MacDonald is a world-class engineering and consulting firm with market-leading experience in the offshore sector. We are proud to have them as part of the Block Island wind farm team and their insight into this complex industry has proven invaluable,” says Jeffrey Grybowski, Deepwater Wind’s CEO.
Wind farms
Mott MacDonald is not the only consulting firm hired to assist in the development of wind farms. In recentl years Royal HaskoningDHV provided Forewind with environmental impact assessments for its offshore wind farm Dogger Bank Creyke Beck in the UK, which led to the granted consent of the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change.
