Abstract
This report supplements the Sunrise Wind Construction and Operations Plan.
Sunrise Wind LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Orsted North America Inc. (Orsted NA) and Eversource Investment LLC (Eversource), is planning for the development of the Sunrise Wind Farm (SRWF) and the Sunrise Wind Export Cable (SRWEC), collectively, the Sunrise Wind Farm Project (Project). The wind farm portion of the Project (i.e., SRWF) will be located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the designated BOEM Renewable Energy Lease Areas OCS–A 0487 (Lease Area)1. The Lease Area is approximately 18.9 statute miles (mi) (16.4 nautical miles [nm]; 30.4 kilometers [km]) south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, approximately 30.5 mi (26.5 nm; 48.1 km) east of Montauk, New York, and 16.7 mi (14.5 nm; 26.8 km) from Block Island, Rhode Island.
The Lease Area contains portions of areas that were originally awarded through the BOEM competitive renewable energy lease auctions of the Wind Energy Area (WEA) off the shores of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The SRWF and a portion of the SRWEC will be located on the OCS, and other components of the Project will be located in state waters of New York and onshore in the Town of Brookhaven, Long Island, New York. The proposed interconnection location for the Project is the Holbrook Substation (Figure 1-1), which is owned and operated by Long Island Power Authority.
Sunrise Wind contracted Stantec Consulting Services Inc. (Stantec) to conduct an avian and bat risk assessment to inform potential impacts for the Project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP), and to ultimately provide information to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and other federal and state agencies. Potential impacts to avian and bat species may occur during Project construction, operations and maintenance (O&M), and decommissioning (decommissioning impacts are expected to be similar to or less than those proposed for construction). Below is a summary of Project description information, including construction activities, habitats that may be impacted, and Project design features that are pertinent to this avian and bat risk assessment.