A 60 megawatt offshore wind farm to be operational by 2030 will be discussed by the Regulatory Authority at a town hall-style meeting tonight.

The RA has provided a summary of the project on its website, including details from Ricardo, a UK-based consultancy, but said that “significant uncertainties remain”.

Several studies have now been completed, and more assessments are in the pipeline. If the project goes ahead, construction is slated to begin in 2028.

Some key challenges were set out in the document, including the fact that one of the possible cable routes at a potential development site off the North Shore enters a coral preserve.

The site, which is nine kilometres off shore, is located within the 15-kilometre airport restriction zone, so any structures must be below 150 metres tall.

The area is also heavily used for fishing, and a wind farm at the location could result in some visual impact.

The RA said: “The efforts to date have helped us understand a lot of detail about a potential offshore wind farm in Bermuda, but we recognise that some significant uncertainties remain.

“Due to the novel nature and small scale of the project, we believe that the remaining risks may still prevent potential developers from engaging.

“Therefore, we concluded that it would be prudent to take further steps to de-risk the project and provide potential developers with more certainty.”

The RA said it will conduct a seabed assessment to provide more clarity on the feasibility and technical requirements of installing wind turbine foundations at the site and will provide further information about the potential environmental impacts.

It added that wind-speed measurements would form the basis of a “more accurate feasibility study”.

The RA added: “A detailed environmental scoping study was carried out, and several potential red flags were found, but appropriate mitigation measures were identified which reduce the risks to acceptable levels.

“As a result, there are no major environmental concerns remaining at this stage.

“It is important to note that the findings of this study need to be verified by site assessments, but at this stage, the study concluded that an offshore wind development would be acceptable from an environmental standpoint.”

It said that a concept design exercise was carried out considering the constraints present at the site, adding “a 3.6 megawatt turbine, capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds was selected, that would be mounted on monopile foundations”.

It said the wind farm would be connected to the Bermuda grid through export cables buried in the seabed.

The RA said the wind farm would be the main contributor for the “ambitious target” of reaching 85 per cent renewable energy generation in Bermuda by 2035.

The presentation takes place at Penno’s Wharf, St George’s, from 6pm to 8pm.

Attendees are encouraged to complete the registration form, and download and read the documents on the Offshore Wind Farm landing page, before attending the meeting.

They should also include any questions they wish to be answered at the bottom of the registration page.

• For more information, contact communications@ra.bm