New Jersey Scuba Diving

Type:

windmill towers

Built:

2016, USA

Specs:

( 600 ft tall )

Depth:

0-85 ft

Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States, located 3.8 miles from Block Island, Rhode Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The five-turbine, 30 MW project was developed by Deepwater Wind, now known as Ørsted US Offshore Wind. The structures were designed by Alstom Wind, stand 600 ft tall, and can withstand a Category 3 storm, hopefully. (The Northeast never gets Category 4 or 5 storms.) Construction began in 2015, and in late summer 2016, five turbines were erected. Operations were launched in December 2016.

The Block Island Wind Farm has experienced multiple issues, causing it to fail to perform on some occasions. Problems include turbine stress fatigue on four of the five turbines and erosion exposing the underwater cables that take the power to the mainland. The combination of the issues resulted in extensive shutdowns in the summer of 2021 for repairs and safety inspections. Four of the five wind turbines at the farm were offline for at least two months. In other words, typical wind turbines.

This is certainly a unique dive for the northeast - continuous structure from the surface down to 85 feet. Dive it while it is still there, windmills like these typically last only a small fraction of their 'design' life. Hurricane?