Secretary Salazar Approves Cape Wind Construction and Operations PlanApril 20, 2011 – Boston, Massachusetts – ESS Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has approved the Cape Wind Energy Project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP). The first-of-its-kind federally mandated plan, which was developed by ESS, clears the way for construction to begin on America’s first offshore wind energy generating facility. The announcement was made in Boston on April 19th by US Secretary of the Department of Interior Ken Salazar. ESS has served as the lead environmental consultant for the 130 wind turbine project off the Massachusetts coastline since its inception in 2001. ESS developed the COP with technical input from Cape Wind Associates, Ocean Surveys Inc., and SgurrEnergy. ESS President & CEO Charles Natale commented, “ESS congratulates Cape Wind on achieving another first, and we are proud to have played a major role in preparing the first approved COP for the rapidly expanding offshore energy industry.” The COP details all planned facilities that Cape Wind will construct or use and describes all proposed construction activities, commercial operations, as well as conceptual decommissioning activities for facilities both offshore and upland. The COP also addresses Cape Wind’s Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Development on the Outer Continental Shelf, another first-of-its-kind granted by BOEMRE, and presents further analysis of the extensive geophysical and geotechnical data gathered over multi-year marine survey deployments. The data, information, and written plans in the COP (such as an Oil Spill Response Plan (OSRP) and Materials Management and Disposal Plan) demonstrates that Cape Wind’s activities will: - Conform to all applicable laws, implementing regulations, commercial lease provisions, best management practices (BMPs) and environmental stipulations;
- Not cause undue harm or damage to natural resources; life (including human and wildlife); property; the marine coastal or human environment; or sites, structures, or objects of historical or archeological significance;
- Be constructed in a prudent and safe manner; and
- Utilize the best available and safest technology, and properly trained personnel.
For more information, or to view the full Cape Wind COP, visit the BOEMRE website. Please also visit the ESS website for more information on our Renewable Energy Services. |
