Vineyard Wind Partners With Local Environmental Contractor To Conduct Current & Tidal Monitoring
Monday 26 October 2020
Vineyard Wind today announced that the company is working with, Woods Hole Group, a local environmental contractor, to deploy current measuring and turbidity monitoring devices along the export cable corridor. Working with Woods Hole Group, the company hopes to gain insight and data that will influence the planning and engineering of the cable installation. Woods Hole Group utilized the local research vessel (R/V) Catapult, a 35-foot boat owned by Marine Imaging Technologies based out of Cataumet, Massachusetts, to deploy the instrumentation.
“We often talk about the positive direct impacts the offshore wind industry will have on the US economy, but it’s important to not overlook the benefits that will be derived by existing local companies who can expand their portfolio of work to accommodate this growing industry,” said Vineyard Wind’s Chief Development Officer, Rachel Pachter. “We’re proud to partner with the Woods Hole Group on this important piece of data collection and look forward to working with many other maritime industry businesses for the foreseeable future.”
Woods Hole Group CEO, Bob Hamilton, stated “Helping to bring clean, renewable energy to our region is an objective we are pleased to advance and is a core mission for our business.”
Woods Hole Group supplied specialized instrumentation for the project, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and turbidity monitoring devices which will be deployed within specially designed Trawl Resistant Bottom Mounts (TRBM) units. The instrumentation was placed at various points throughout Muskeget Channel and Nantucket Sound, long known for extremely high tidal velocities, particularly during the flood and ebb tides. Eventual landfall for the export cables will occur at Covells Beach in Barnstable.
The instruments have been deployed to collect observations for up to 60-days, or two complete lunar tidal cycles. Upon completion of the measurement campaign, Woods Hole Group will again utilize the R/V Catapult to assist with the recovery of the devices from the seabed. Woods Hole Group will download the captured data from the instruments for processing and will provide it to Vineyard Wind to facilitate planning of the various marine works associated with the 501N project.