RWE, National Grid JV begins New York Bight survey work

Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture between RWE Renewables and National Grid, has started its geophysical survey campaign in the New York Bight.

The survey campaign, managed by Fugro, will study seabed conditions and potential export cable corridors within the project lease area.

The data collected will help inform safe and responsible project design and engineering, identifying potential geohazards and obstructions, as well as benthic habitats and archaeological resources.

The survey work will continue through Summer 2023 with two vessels.

“The start of the site survey is an important milestone for the project. The technical data collected will help us develop a more responsible and cost-effective project design.  Our success relies on communication, safety and collaboration with other parties out on the water”, said Doug Perkins, President and Project Director of Community Offshore Wind.

The Community Offshore Wind team is working closely with area fisheries to prevent the disruption of commercial and recreational fishing over the course of the survey’s duration, the developer said.

In the New York Bight auction, RWE and National Grid secured the OCS-A 0539 lease area with a winning bid of $1.1 billion and plan to have the project in operation by the end of the decade.

The awarded seabed has the potential to host 3 GW of capacity, enough to power 1.1 million households, more than double than estimated in a base scenario by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).