TY - RPRT
TI - Supporting National Environmental Policy Act Documentation for Offshore Wind Energy Development Related to Glauconite Sand
AU - Bruggeman, G
AU - Middleton, P
AU - Barnhart, B
AB - Wind energy production on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a growing industry. Large-scale offshore wind farms are poised for construction, and many others are in varying stages of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and regulatory approval. Research studies and geophysical surveys have shown that glauconite is widely dispersed in the sandy soils across the globe with the majority of historic glauconite formations on the continental margin within the northern hemisphere including the Atlantic OCS (Banerjee, et al., 2020). Wind farm development and construction in this area will inevitably encounter the mineral.The mechanical properties of some sediments can have engineering implications for construction activities and need to be accounted for during planning and design stages. For example, glauconite sand has been identified as a potential geohazard due to its susceptibility to crushing, resulting in driving resistance and premature pile installation refusal, which are significant risks to offshore wind farm development (Westgate, et al., 2022).This paper provides information about glauconite sands, including details on the characteristics of glauconite deposits, typical locations that contain these sands, and how they affect offshore wind farm installation. This paper also provides next steps to consider in regard to offshore wind development in areas with high concentrations of glauconite sands. Links to more in-depth resources can be accessed in the References Section at the end of the document.
DA - 2023/02//
PY - 2023
SP - 16
PB - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
SN - BOEM 2023-011
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Habitat Change
KW - Physical Environment
ER -