Abstract
The construction of the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF), which is located 4.5 kilometers (km) (2.8 miles [mi]) southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, was completed in two distinct phases. Phase 1 construction began in August 2015 and was completed over an 18-week period. It included installation of five wind turbine foundations on the seabed. Phase 2 construction was completed in two steps. In Step 1, which was initiated in January 2016, submarine power cables were laid on the seabed. In Step 2, which was completed over a two-week period (3 August–18 August) in 2016, a turbine tower, a nacelle, and three blades were assembled on each of the five wind turbine generator (WTG) foundations. The nacelle is a case that houses all of the generating components in a wind turbine, including the generator, gearbox, drive train, and brake assembly. This report presents methods, observations, data analyses, results, and conclusions from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) RODEO Program environmental monitoring conducted during the assembly of the WTG components on the turbine foundations (i.e. Phase 2, Step 2). Visual observations of construction activities were recorded and airborne noise monitoring was conducted.