Surveying Work Planned at Scarborough Beach for Future Wind Farm Undersea Cable

Beachgoers at Scarborough State Beach in Narragansett in August might see National Grid workers collecting soil samples and conducting survey work, and it won’t be because of another mysterious “beach blast.”

Instead, crews will be doing preliminary work in advance of the installation of an undersea power cable that will connect the planned Block Island Wind Farm to the mainland.

National Grid contractors will be at the beach between Aug. 3 and 14 depending on the weather, avoiding weekends and a state holiday on Aug. 10.

Two locations at Scarborough will be tested and a small area around the worksite will be secured at all time. Truck-mounted mobile drilling rigs will be used for the job.

“Work will be done to minimize impact on beachgoers and area residents and businesses,” said National Grid spokesman David Graves.

Similar work will be performed on Block Island Town Beach.

Crews will also be taking samples from adjacent parking lots.

The wind farm is expected to generate 30 megawatts of power and will deliver more than enough power for the island, which needs about 4 megawatts. The rest will be routed into the state’s power grid.