HOW IT ALL
ALIGNED
Here’s a quick glimpse into what happened when, beginning
with the 2014 feasibility study by The Ash Group (which
Ayres Associates acquired in 2016).
December 2014
Feasibility study
starts
December 2015
Design and
permitting begins
December 2017
An uncommon approach
So how exactly does a team go about installing
power cables in the deep sea?
All permits
received
In this case, the equipment of choice was a hydro
plow: a “V”-shaped plow (similar to a farming plow)
that is pulled by a boat at the bottom of the bay and
creates a ditch for the cables to be laid in place up
to 10 feet deep.
March 2018
September 2018
“Only three companies in the United States have
this equipment,” Ash explained.
Construction
of mitigation
area and cable
installation begins
The hydro plow is older technology; however, it’s
the only method used for embedding cables long
distances. The directional drill generally can perform
in distances of less than a mile.
One area of seagrass was unavoidable during
construction, and the cable alignment crossed it
with the hydro plow.
In order to restore the sea grasses, Ayres was tasked
with developing a restoration plan. That included
locating areas damaged by boats (blowholes and
deep prop scars) within neighboring sea grass beds.
May 2019
5
Construction
contracts
awarded for cable
placement and
mitigation area
October 2018
First post-
construction
baseline monitoring
performed
Five-year seagrass
monitoring begins
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