Jerrod KingeryThe nation’s 11th offshore wind energy project has received federal approval.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have approved the SouthCoast Wind Project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
The DOI says the project is expected to generate up to 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy, enough to power over 840,000 homes, for Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The wind farm will be located about 26 nautical miles (nm) south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 nm south of Nantucket and will cover approximately 127,388 acres.
RELATED: N.J. offshore wind project approved; more lease sales coming in August
In addition to the approval of these offshore wind projects, since 2022 BOEM has held six offshore wind lease auctions. These include a record-breaking sale offshore New York and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of Maine coasts.
As approved, the SouthCoast Wind Project will include the construction of up to 141 wind turbine generators and up to five offshore substation platforms located at a maximum of 143 positions, and up to eight offshore export cables potentially making landfall in Brayton Point or Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Last November, BOEM announced the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the activities outlined in the project’s construction and operations plan and considered reasonable alternatives.
As a result, the approved project removes up to six wind turbine positions outlined in the original proposal in order to reduce potential impacts on foraging habitat and potential displacement of wildlife from this habitat adjacent to Nantucket Shoals.
For more information on the SouthCoast Wind Project, visit BOEM’s website.
Photo by Enrique
