BOEM reopens review of Vineyard Wind

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Vineyard Wind, which will use GE Haliade X turbines shown here, has been given federal approval. -Courtesy GE website

The environmental review of Vineyard Wind is back before the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the federal agency announced Wednesday. 

“Offshore wind has the potential to help our nation combat climate change, improve resilience through reliable power, and spur economic development to create good-paying jobs,” said BOEM director Amanda Lefton in a press release. “BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project.”

The announcement that BOEM is reviewing the project comes after Vineyard Wind renewed its application for a federal permit on Jan. 22 to build the 800-megawatt project 15 miles south of the Island. Vineyard Wind withdrew its construction and operations plan on Dec. 1, in the waning days of the Trump administration.

The official reason for the pause was to review whether use of General Electric’s Haliade-X turbines would require modifications to the application.

The project, known as Vineyard Wind 1, will feature 62 GE Haliade-X turbines, and is anticipated to have an overall cost of just over $2 billion. The 62 turbines are meant to generate 800 megawatts of electricity that will be sent through two export cables buried under the Atlantic seabed. The cables will pass through the Muskeget Channel off Chappaquiddick, and stretch across Nantucket Sound to a landfall at Barnstable, where they can send electricity into the grid. Edgartown’s conservation commission butted heads with Vineyard Wind over the cables, but eventually reached a settlement

In a statement posted on the company’s website, Vineyard Wind praised the decision. “We are very pleased that BOEM has decided to move forward with the permitting process for our Vineyard Wind 1 project,” the release states. “We look forward to working with the agency as we launch an industry that will create thousands of jobs while also taking meaningful steps to reduce the impact of climate change.”

The release reiterates Vineyard Wind’s timeline of winning approval in 2021 and “delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.” 

According to the BOEM release, President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Jan. 27 that called for the Interior Department to identify steps to accelerate responsible development of renewable energy on public lands and waters. Interior has initiated a review of processes and procedures to date as it reinvests in a rigorous renewable energy program.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) urged BOEM to stand by its commitment for “responsible development” and to set the tone for public engagement.

“RODA reaffirms our concerns about the flawed process for offshore wind leasing and development in U.S. waters, and hopes BOEM will capitalize on this opportunity to improve public engagement,” the release states. “Given the complexity of the leasing process, the fact that the public was informed that the review had been terminated, and renewable power goals have increased since the initiation of the review, the reinitiation merits additional opportunities for public comment.”

In closing, RODA welcomed Lefton and called on her to “move toward a system that truly empowers and engages with American communities that will be impacted for decades to come.”

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