USA: Atkins to Prepare EIS for Innovative Offshore Wind Farms

The North American business of Atkins, one of the world’s leading engineering and design firms, has been selected by Baryonyx Corporation of Austin, Texas, and approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Galveston District, as the third-party contractor to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a pair of innovative offshore wind farms.

Baryonyx obtained two offshore leases from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) in 2009 and submitted a permit application to the USACE in the summer of 2011 for the proposed project, which will be sited off the south Texas coast.

Atkins project manager Angela Bulger said, “This is the first offshore wind-farm project proposed in the Gulf of Mexico that has progressed to the point of seeking Federal construction permits—and the first for which an EIS will be prepared. Through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, a broad range of environmental factors will be thoroughly evaluated. Atkins has been building a reputation as the consultant of choice for NEPA compliance assessments, and we are pleased to have been selected for such a forward-thinking project.”

Baryonyx cited Atkins’ clear understanding of NEPA compliance requirements and its experience with the USACE as primary reasons for their selection of Atkins over the six other firms that had bid on the contract.

 Cecilia Green, energy integration director for Atkins’ North American business, said, “This is an opportunity for Atkins to build on the strength of other offshore wind-farm consulting contracts we have won in the UK and France.”

Currently, Baryonyx anticipates building two wind farms that will be sited approximately 5 and 10 miles offshore from Port Isabel, Texas. Each farm is expected to generate from 900MW to 1,000MW of power. Upon completion, the anticipated 2GW of power will be delivered into the existing Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power-transmission grid, primarily during hours of peak electricity demand.

The EIS is expected to be completed over a two- to three-year period. The NEPA process is designed to include multiple opportunities for comment by members of the public and other interested parties.

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Offshore WIND Staff, March 20, 2012; Image:  siemens