On August 29, 2022, BOEM announced the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Revolution Wind Farm project offshore Rhode Island.
The Notice of Availability for the Revolution Wind DEIS published in the Federal Register on September 2, 2022, opening a 45-day public comment period, which ended at 11:59 p.m. ET on October 17, 2022. The input received via this process will inform preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The following documents are available for your viewing.
More information, including meeting registration and instructions for commenting, is available in the Virtual Meeting Room.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Community Levels will be monitored for Dukes County (Martha’s Vineyard, MA), Bristol County (New Bedford, MA), and Washington County (North Kingstown, RI). If the COVID-19 Community Level is ‘MEDIUM’ or ‘HIGH”, BOEM may decide to cancel in-person meetings and replace one or more meetings with a virtual meeting and will provide updates here. Please check this website 24 hours prior to any of the in-person meetings to confirm status.
On September 12, 2013, BOEM executed commercial wind energy leases OCS-A 0486. For more information on the planning and environmental review process offshore wind activities offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts, visit the pages below.
On March 23, 2020, BOEM approved an application to assign a portion of commercial lease OCS-A 0486 from Deepwater Wind New England, LLC to Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC, which resulted in segregation of the lease and a new lease number OCS-A 0517. The remaining portion of the OCS-A 0486 area was assigned to DWW Rev I, LLC on March 24, 2020. The approved assignment forms are available below.
Note: For commercial lease OCS-A 0486, DWW Rev I, LLC subsequently changed their name to Revolution Wind, LLC. For commercial lease OCS-A 0517, Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC subsequently changed their name to South Fork Wind, LLC. More information on the South Fork Wind Farm project can be found here: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/south-fork.
On October 12, 2017, BOEM approved the Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for Lease OCS-A 0486. The SAP approval allows for the installation of an AXYS FLiDAR 6M™ meteorological buoy (met buoy) within the lease area. For additional information, please find the approved SAP and conditions of approval below:
The SAP was filed on April 1, 2016, with revisions filed in July, September, and November 2016. BOEM determined the SAP was complete on October 7, 2016. In October 2020, BOEM received an application to decommission the met buoy within the OCS-A 0486 lease area. BOEM approved the decommissioning application on August 13, 2021 with conditions. All equipment was retrieved from the site on September 14, 2021.
Revolution Wind submitted its COP initially on March 13, 2020. An updated COP was submitted on April 29, 2021, and again on July 21, 2022. BOEM will review the COP and approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications the proposed activities.
As proposed in the COP, Revolution Wind seeks approval to develop, build, and operate an up to 880 MW commercial wind energy facility. The Project would be located in the area covered by BOEM’s Renewable Energy Lease Number OCS-A 0486, approximately 18 statute miles southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island and approximately 15 statute miles east of Block Island, Rhode Island.
The most recent COP (updated July 2022) and appendices are available here:
The visual impact assessment includes photo simulations from numerous Key Observation Points (KOPs) and provides a detailed analysis of the potential visibility of the proposed Project and differences in landscape visual quality with and without the Project in place.
Photo simulations of the proposed Revolution Wind Farm from all KOPs may be viewed or downloaded by state in the following:
Photo simulations of the Revolution Wind Alternatives and the corresponding Cumulative Effects Full Buildout Scenario as seen from KOP MV07 Aquinnah Overlook may be viewed or downloaded from the following links:
As part of the COP review, a series of time-lapse videos were generated that depict 18 hours of daytime and nighttime conditions under a variety of lighting conditions (including nighttime), cloud cover, and weather scenarios. To represent nighttime conditions, the aviation obstruction lights were animated to flash at a rate of 30 flashes per minute. As discussed in Appendix U3 (Visual Impact Assessment) of the COP, based on past flight data and the use of Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems (ADLS), the aviation obstruction lights associated with the project would only be activated for a total of approximately 3.5 hours over a one-year period.
The visual impact assessment includes photo simulations from numerous Key Observation Points and provides a detailed analysis of the potential visibility of the proposed Project and differences in landscape visual quality with and without the Project in place.
Links to the video simulations provided below are also in Table 2.2-3 of the visual impact assessment. Note: If viewing on a computer monitor, use the highest screen resolution available. The simulation is at the proper perspective when viewed at a distance of approximately twice the image height.
The BOEM Cumulative Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment (CHRVEA) provides photo simulations for the project when combined with other reasonably foreseeable offshore wind development in the area. Collectively, the views illustrate the full range of viewing angles, lighting and weather conditions, and viewing distances from open, publicly accessible vantage points throughout the entire potentially affected area.
Appendix C of the BOEM Cumulative Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment (CHRVEA) provides photo simulations for the project when combined with other reasonably foreseeable offshore wind development in the area. Collectively, the views illustrate the full range of viewing angles, lighting and weather conditions, and viewing distances from open, publicly accessible vantage points throughout the entire potentially affected area. The CHRVEA and associated appendices can be accessed here:
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Scoping
On April 30, 2021, BOEM published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Revolution Wind's Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Rhode Island.
The Notice of Intent initiated a 30-day public comment period. During the public comment period, BOEM hosted three virtual scoping meetings where the public learned more about the Construction and Operations Plan (COP), asked questions, and provided oral testimony.
Recordings from the virtual scoping meetings are available:
BOEM received 41 submissions during the scoping period from the public, agencies, Tribes, and other interested groups and stakeholders. Scoping comments can be viewed through the Regulations.gov web portal by searching Docket No. BOEM-2021-0029 at http://www.regulations.gov and clicking “View Related Comments”.
On August 29, 2022, BOEM announced the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Revolution Wind energy project offshore Rhode Island. The Notice of Availability and DEIS can be accessed using the links below.
