Deepwater Wind - Energy Highway

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! ! approved Private Aid to Navigation (PATON) from the U.S. Coast Guard for navigational lighting of the structure. Because the Wind Plant is outside of the federal territorial seas (i.e. beyond 12 nautical miles), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) review of structures over 200 feet will not apply to the Project. 5 Environmental resource protection agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will be responsible for reviewing Project impacts to protected resources and evaluating the need for mitigation or permitting. These agencies will have the opportunity to comment through interagency consultations required for federal permitting. NMFS and USFWS will review impacts to marine, coastal, and terrestrial threatened and endangered species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Impacts to non-listed species and habitats will also be evaluated under several other wildlife protection laws, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The EPA will review the Project for potential air emissions from construction and operation vessels with respect to state non-attainment areas for criteria pollutants. State Permitting Requirements for the Project The portion of NELI within New York state waters will require a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need under Article VII from the New York State Department of Public Service, Public Service Commission. The Article VII process requires a full environmental, public health, and safety impact review of the siting, design, construction, and operation of major transmission facilities in New York. The environmental review under Article VII is conducted in lieu of a State Environmental Quality Act (SEQRA) process for the PSC permit. The Project will also require a federal consistency review under the New York Department of State, Coastal Zone Management Program, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program (RICRMP) and the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Program (MA CZMP). The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (RI CRMC) recently adopted the Ocean SAMP into the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Plan. The Ocean SAMP outlines enforceable policies and recommendations to guide RI CRMC in promoting a balanced and comprehensive ecosystem-based management approach for the development and protection of oceanbased resources within the Ocean SAMP study area, which extends into federal waters. The Wind Plant is located within the Ocean SAMP study area and has been sited to conform to the results of the Ocean SAMP. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 Notwithstanding this lack of jurisdiction, Deepwater plans to consult with the FAA. ! 17
! ! Permitting Milestones ! Deepwater has reached several key milestones in the path to fully permitting the Project and obtaining full site control. Deepwater has exclusive rights from the state to develop off the coast of Rhode Island. As discussed earlier, Deepwater is Rhode Island’s preferred developer of offshore wind as a result of having won a competitive solicitation in 2008. While the United States Department of the Interior must issue a lease for the project site in federal waters, the federal government will turn to the preferences of the adjacent state in making this decision. The permitting and leasing process is far ahead of other projects. In October 2010, Deepwater submitted a lease application for the Wind Plant site to the federal government and has been deemed legally, financially, and technically qualified to hold a lease by the Department of the Interior. In 2011, BOEM took several steps to advance the process of awarding a lease for the site of the Project. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar kicked off these next steps in the leasing process by setting the goal of finalizing a lease award in 2012. Specifically, on August 18, 2011, BOEM issued a Call for Nominations and Interest for the Project site. Deepwater responded to this Call with a nomination of a project site area that can accommodate over 1,000 MWs of nameplate capacity. The Governor of Rhode Island officially supported Deepwater’s nomination. BOEM also issued on August 18, 2011 a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for Commercial Wind Lease Issuance in the Project site. BOEM has indicated that these two processes – the lease award and the environmental review necessary for the lease award – will proceed concurrently in 2012. Finally, Deepwater’s Block Island project is in the permitting phase with many of the agencies that will also permit DWEC and NELI. Deepwater has been working with these agencies for the last several years on the Block Island Wind Farm and has helped set the permitting standards for offshore wind farms and associated transmission on the Atlantic Coast. Deepwater has invested in the studies and designs necessary to move forward at this site. In 2010, Deepwater completed a comprehensive turbine-siting plan for the Project site, working with AWS Truepower. This plan was informed by a site-specific wind assessment model, existing geophysical data, a site-specific foundation design, and a FEED study for transmission components. ! ! 18
Page 2 and 3: BY COURIER AND ELECTRONIC MAIL May
Page 4 and 5: ! Executive Summary ! Enabled by th
Page 6 and 7: ! ! A final longer-term phase of de
Page 8 and 9: ! ! The Board of Managers also incl
Page 10 and 11: ! II. ! Project Description The Dee
Page 12 and 13: ! ! additional power will be divert
Page 14 and 15: ! ! As estimated by the New York St
Page 16 and 17: ! Environmental Benefits ! Improved
Page 18 and 19: ! ! Sources of Financing The projec
Page 22 and 23: ! VI. Interconnection ! Deepwater h
Page 24 and 25: ! VII. Technical ! The Project’s
Page 26 and 27: ! VII. Construction & Design Projec
Page 28 and 29: ! ! VIII. Socio-economic Considerat
Page 30 and 31: ! IX. Project Status ! On March 31,
Page 32 and 33: ! XI. Other Considerations ! Future
Page 34: ! ! Interconnections In New York, S

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