Block Island wind farm, the first offshore development in the USA, has successfully reached financial close. Mott MacDonald was lenders’ technical advisor during the project’s due diligence phase and is now monitoring construction as independent engineer in an ongoing role.
The 30MW wind farm is being developed by Deepwater Wind and is located three miles off the south-east coast of Block Island in Rhode Island. It comprises five Alstom Haliade 150-6.0MW wind turbines, capable of generating over 125,000MWhs annually – enough to power over 17,000 homes.
Mott MacDonald’s project manager Will Lamond said: “This is a landmark and historic project for the USA and will help accelerate growth in the country’s offshore wind industry going forward. We have been involved on the project for the last two years, from undertaking initial bankability studies to performing the bulk of project financing due diligence.”
Jeffrey Grybowski, Deepwater Wind’s chief executive officer, added: “Mott MacDonald is a world-class engineering and consulting firm with market-leading experience in the offshore sector. We are proud to have them as part of the Block Island wind farm team and their insight into this complex industry has proven invaluable.”
Construction of the Block Island wind farm is expected to commence in summer 2015 and is scheduled for commercial operation by the end of 2016.