Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) is proposing a massive $5 billion offshore undersea cable transmission project that by 2016 could transmit 1.5 MW and eventually 6,000 MW at full capacity. The 350-mile undersea cable would also add 26,000 jobs, while potentially reshaping the economy of the Mid-Atlantic states.By Stas Margaronis, AJOTA proposed offshore transmission system that will link utility customers between New Jersey and Virginia could generate as many as 26,000 jobs with the inclusion of new wind farms, according to Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC), the project sponsor. When complete the AWC project will be able to connect at least 6,000 megawatts (MW) of off-shore wind-generated electricity sufficient to serve 1.9 million households and 2,000 MW of existing energy transmitted between land-based terminals. AWC submitted its proposal, projected to cost $5 billion, for approval to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December asserting the project will:
  • Generate 13,000 to 26,000 total jobs in the construction of transmission lines and projected offshore wind farms that will accrue primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region over a ten year period. Initially, the AWC project will generate 3,000 to 5,000 jobs over the same ten year period.
  • Improve power reliability by providing a back up transmission system in case of a repeat of the Northeast Blackout of August 2003. This was estimated to have cost U.S. and Canadian consumers between $4 billion to $10 billion.
  • Reduce congestion on the grid allowing for lower cost power to be sent to consumers, reduce reliance on older and higher polluting power plants and reduce the risk of black-outs.
  • Improve national security by providing a back up for vital military installations along the Atlantic coast.
AWC’s Submission The AWC’s submission to FERC is designed to obtain “incentive rate policies” from electricity-paying customers that are sufficient to make the project economically viable and provide investors an acceptable rate of return. Markian Melnyk, a principal with Atlantic Wind Connection, based in Chevy Chase, Maryland told the AJOT: “We are projecting that construction will begin in 2013 and that we will commence operations in 2016. At that time, the project’s first phase will be able to transmit 1,500 MW of electricity using under water cable rated at approximately 320 kV. Subsequent phases will follow to bring the project up to its full 6,000 MW capacity.” “We are projecting that construction will begin in 2013 and that we will commence operations in 2016. At that time, the project’s first phase will be able to transmit 1,500 MW of electricity using under water cable rated at approximately 320 kV. Subsequent phases will follow to bring the project up to its full 6,000 MW capacity.” The cable is cross-linked polyethylene cable that will be dug one meter or more deep into the seabed to prevent tangling fishing gear or anchors. Melnyk says the project has three major components:
  1. Twelve substations in which offshore wind farms can transmit Alternating Current (AC) power into the substation which will convert it to Direct Current (DC). DC transmits electricity over long distances with less power loss than AC. The electricity will than be converted back to AC at six land-based sub-substations. The off-shore substations will cost about $100 million each and displace about 3,500 tons. They will need to be built onshore and indoors. This will guard against corrosion from weather and seawater. When completed the modules will be towed out to sea. We believe the most efficient process for anchoring the structure will be self-installing platforms with their own foundations. The depth for these stations will be about 100-feet which is very doable and common for the oil and gas industry’s off-shore platforms. There, fixed jacket foundations have been built in seas of several hundred feet. There are floating platforms anchored in far deeper wate