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Proposed Staten Island Offshore Wind Terminal Gathers Momentum

arthur kill
The proposed Arthur Kill Terminal (courtesy AOT)

Published Jul 18, 2021 11:42 PM by The Maritime Executive

The investment fund Apollo Global Management has signed for the exclusive right to invest in the new Arthur Kill Terminal project, a greenfield port facility in Staten Island that will be purpose-built for offshore wind construction and maintenance.

New York-based Atlantic Offshore Terminals (AOT) will lead the development of Arthur Kill Terminal, which is slated to begin operating in late 2025 - just in time to support a boom in offshore wind projects in the New York Bight.

The future terminal would be built on a 32-acre plot adjacent to the Outerbridge Crossing, the bridge connecting Perth Amboy, New Jersey with the southwestern tip of Staten Island. It is located on the seaward side of the bridge, giving it unrestricted air draft access to the sea - an important consideration for laden wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) in operation. It will be built with 1,300 feet of quayside capacity and enough surface bearing capacity to handle modern ultra-large turbines.

"Successful development of Arthur Kill Terminal would ensure there is sufficient staging port capacity to build New York’s target of at least 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035, as well as support the use of jackup vessels, floating foundations and other emerging offshore wind technologies on the East Coast,” said Boone Davis, the president of AOT.

In addition to commitments from the State of New York for the purchase of wind power, the new industy has backing from the Biden administration, which has promised to accelerate offshore wind development. In June, the Department of the Interior announced that it would auction off eight new lease areas in the New York Bight for offshore wind development. The lease area has enough space to support more than seven gigawatts of offshore wind energy, and it is right next door to the proposed site for the Arthur Kill Terminal.

"Arthur Kill Terminal is positioned to be a foundation of the core infrastructure supporting the offshore wind industry in New York and the surrounding region," said Brad Fierstein, Principal at Apollo. "We are excited by the opportunity to support the substantial industrial development and job creation the AKT project can bring to the city and region."