CWA is proposing the development of an offshore wind turbine park, capable of generating up to 468 MW of power. The project involves the siting, permitting, and construction of up to 130 wind turbines, an offshore electric service platform, as well as the submarine cable transmission link, and the upland cable interconnection with New England's power grid. Once completed the project will be one of the largest offshore wind power generation facilities in the world. In support of the Cape Wind Project, ESS successfully completed the permitting for and installation of a site-specific Scientific Measurements Station.
ESS has assisted CWA with the preparation, coordination, and/or completion of numerous federal, state, and local permits, provided Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) technical support and expert witness testimony, and responded to scoping requests by the Department of Interior Minerals Management Service (MMS) during the development of an additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
ESS also conducted extensive avian field surveys (aerial, boat and land-based), ground truthing of migratory radar studies, and assessment of risk to birds to evaluate potential impacts from the Project. ESS has assisted MMS and USFWS to address Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 consultation issues, and has developed an Avian and Bat Monitoring Plan for the Project as well as an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) for marine mammals. ESS has also supported CWA during Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) consultations.
ESS has prepared and submitted the first-ever detailed Navigational Risk Assessment to the US Coast Guard's (USCG) First District, in order to evaluate the possibility for project impacts to marine vessel traffic and USCG search and rescue operations. ESS has also filed and obtained Determinations of No Hazard with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ESS has also prepared an application for a permit for air emissions from project activities that are subject to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The application has been submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Additionally, ESS also provided an air quality conformity analysis and conducted air quality modeling of construction activities to demonstrate that those activities would not cause or contribute to a violation of federal ambient air quality standards.
