A company that wants to build a floating wind farm 23 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to install a demonstration platform at the project's proposed site. The application by Blue H USA proposes a semi-submerged deepwater platform held underwater by chains attached to a counterweight on the ocean floor.

A company that wants to build a floating wind farm 23 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to install a demonstration platform at the project's proposed site.

The application by Blue H USA proposes a semi-submerged deepwater platform held underwater by chains attached to a counterweight on the ocean floor, according to a statement released this week by the Army Corps. A tower with monitoring equipment would stand about 197 feet above the water.

The tower would collect data to demonstrate the viability of deepwater offshore wind technologies and would not include a wind turbine, according to the statement.

Last year, Blue H proposed building a 120-turbine floating wind farm southwest of Martha's Vineyard. The company submitted a nomination for lease to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the lead agency to review wind energy projects in federal waters.

A spokeswoman for the Minerals Management Service was not immediately available for comment on the application.

The Army Corps of Engineers will accept comment on the Blue H application until Oct. 15. Comments should be sent to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division, ATTN: Kevin Kotelly, 896 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751.

For more information, call Kotelly at 978-318-8703 or toll free at 800-343-4789, or e-mail him at kevin.r.kotelly@usace.army.mil.

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