Officials with the town of Aquinnah say they have reached an agreement over mitigation funding with the developer of the closest, and likely largest, offshore wind farm planned for nearby waters.
Orsted, the developer of Revolution Wind, is expected to provide the town with over a million dollars to fund the renovation of the Gay Head Lighthouse and other historic structures in the area.
The agreement, while not signed by either side yet, comes after several months of negotiations.
While the town is pleased to have gotten something from the developers, town officials say they didn’t get all they wanted.
“With any agreement, there is some give and take on both sides,” Aquinnah town administrator Jeffrey Madison said Wednesday. “It is what it is. We’re happy that there is some consideration being given to our community.”
Still, funding from Revolution, combined with funding from other offshore wind companies, will help make the Aquinnah Cliffs more accessible. But the majority of funding will also go toward needed repairs to the glass and steel framing of the lighthouse. Madison said that the project would be too big for the town to take on itself.
Out of the several offshore wind farms planned for waters near the Vineyard, Revolution Wind would be the closest to Aquinnah, at only 12 miles away.
Orsted originally planned to have some 100 turbines, but after review from the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management, the project will likely consist of 65 turbines. In its approval, issued in July, the federal agency says that the preferred alternative would meet energy needs with fewer wind turbines.
The reduction is meant to reduce impacts to “visual resources, benthic habitat, and allow for ocean co-use,” the BOEM decision reads.
The placement of where the turbines are erected is still being considered. The BOEM decision gives flexibility for design and construction to Orsted. Some of the flexibility in the layout of the 65 turbines will require Orsted to move the development closer to Aquinnah or to Rhode Island; other options will benefit cod spawning locations.
Orsted, in a statement, says they are okay with BOEM’s decision. “Revolution Wind will follow BOEM’s recommendation for no more than 65 wind turbines for the project. With the recent receipt of the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement, Revolution Wind is one step closer to delivering renewable energy and significant economic benefits to Rhode Island and Connecticut.”
Madison says the negotiations with Orsted were over the mitigation funding, and had less to do with the actual placement of the turbines. Overall, he says, residents in Aquinnah have been receptive to offshore wind industry, in light of the need to stop using fossil fuels.
“I haven’t heard any objections that are that stark,” he said. “This town has been a leader in trying to recognize the needs for alternative energy and resources. The people that I’ve spoken to have not taken a ‘not in my backyard approach,’ as we’ve seen elsewhere.”
But Madison does recognize that members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) have had their objections.
In a statement to The Times, Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais said that they are still opposed to Revolution Wind, even with nearly 40 fewer turbines.
“We are still strenuously in opposition to any development in the waters off Aquinnah, affecting our Sacred Cliffs and Traditional Cultural Resources,” Maltais said. “BOEM’s attempt to only mitigate the devastating effects of the project, by simply reducing the number of giant wind turbines, doesn’t honor our repeated requests to deny both of the project(s), due to the irreparable damage and cultural harm these projects will cause our Tribal Community, now and into the future.”
Andrews-Maltais expresses concern over significant cultural resources as well as fishing grounds.
“While we all support renewable energy, there is a responsible way and an irresponsible way of developing it,” the chairwoman said. “In my, and many other Tribes’ and non-Tribal entities’ opinion, this is not the responsible way.”
Revolution Wind is expected to provide 304 MW of power to Connecticut and 400 MW to Rhode Island. Orsted says the project is on-track to complete environmental review and obtain approval later this summer, with construction activities ramping up soon after. They estimate it to be fully operational in 2025.
Is it just me or is anyone else feeling like
our beautiful island is becoming the testing ground for an untested solution for green energy impacting our whales, sacred seabeds, fishing industry, marine life etc for companies from other countries? What do they have to lose? Remember it costs millions of dollars to dismantle these albatrosses if they don’t work. Just ask Falmouth.
It is not just you.
The whole program is a deal with the devil.
Too bad the Wampanoags don’t see it.
Or, maybe they are just as helpless as the rest of us.
I just watched a supposed “documentary” produced by ABC back in 2009, titled Earth 2100.
It is a supposedly science-based prediction of why eco-doom awaits us.
One interesting aspect among many of this dystopian fairy tale masquerading as a documentary is that basically none of the technological fixes worked. They all failed. Broke down, even, at the critical moment. So, huge investments were for naught, public monies and investments sidelined into dead-ends. Some actions that were carried out to save Earth were international fossil-fuel-intensive “experiments” (that word used) where the side effects were more lethal to life than the supposed problem.
I highly recommend viewing this “documentary” to see the “vision of the future” in 2009 and compare it to what has transpired since then and what is going on today—also the fearmongering messaging.
I won’t provide a link because it is too long.
Just do a search for “ABC The Earth 2100.”
Thank you Katherine. Look forward to watching that documentary. No one seems to address the fact that to create EV cars etc to save the environment you need to mine for Lithium which is many times more destructive to the earth and environment. These blades once decommissioned can also currently not be destroyed in a way that’s not bad for the environment (ie buried in landfills). Granted they are trying to find better ways to dispose of them but as with the entire EV industry. They are not first establishing more reliable and available charging options nor figuring out how to extinguish fires that can result from flooding, etc. Definitely a “cart before the horse” process.
No one seems to address the fact that to create gas cars you need to mine for petroleum.
Lithium is old technology.
You asked for it, you got it. TOYOTA
Not Ford, or GM or what was was Chrysler!
Solid state battery technology will deliver a longer life span than currently used lithium-ion batteries, more range, and faster charging times.
Jean– if you had been reading this
forum for any length of time, you would
have noticed that the issue of mining
lithium has come up dozens of times.
No one is saying that lithium mining
is a squeaky clean environmentally
friendly activity. Certainly not me–
It’s horrible. Oil production is horrible.
Oil spills are horrible.
The effects of rising carbon levels in the
atmosphere and the acidification of the
oceans is horrible.
Nuclear plants are horrible when they
melt down, they cost Billions to decommission.
Note that Japan recently dumped millions of
gallons of radioactive water into the ocean.
The company in charge or decomissioning
the Pilgrim plant is fighting to dump a million
gallons of radioactive water into Cape Cod
bay.
Lithium is recyclable you know– recycle your
phone when you are done with it.
As for the blades — Please read my comment
in this article — it’s about 20 comments down.
https://www.mvtimes.com/2023/08/02/times-headed-windfarm-construction-site/
Jean– It cost $40,000 for the town of Falmouth to
have those 2 windmills removed. They worked–
NIMBY brought them down.
I also have no idea why you think these are “untested”.
This technology has been successfully and economically
producing clean power off the coasts of Europe for decades.
Just because the nimby’s and the oil companies have
managed to keep the United States stuck in a hysterical
state of denial and fear, does not mean anything about
them is untested.
I might also add that the marine ecosystems have not
been damaged and there is has not been a verifiable
marine mammal death associated in any way with the
thousands of offshore windmills that have been operating
for decades.
Vineyard wind is responsible for removing them (at their
expense) when they are no longer useful.
That’s in the contracts and an escrow account has been
established for that eventuality.
When did seabeds become “sacred” ?
The oil and gas industries have been desecrating
and destroying seabeds for decades.
If you are worried about that one, I suggest you
put solar panels on your roof to charge your electric
car.
Wind works ok where there is wind but if you have to transport the electricity to other places the costs double. Outside of federal subsidies, wind benefits from a bevy of state policies and incentives, most notably through renewable portfolio standards, which require a certain amount of electricity to be generated by renewable sources.
While the standards are not subsidies in the traditional sense, multiple experts said they function like subsidies and have driven wind development in areas where it otherwise would not have happened. As the tax credit goes away, these standards are likely to play an even bigger role.
andy– I wonder if you have just ignored the recent article where revolution wind is subsidizing a town for a million dollars based on their religious beliefs– and they aren’t even Christians—
“Petroleum works ok but if you have to transport the electricity to other places the costs double.”
Really?
That is so very hard to believe.
“The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that annual electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) losses averaged about 5% of the electricity transmitted and distributed in the United States in 2017 through 2021.”
How much does it cost to transport the oil and coal to generators?
How much does it cost to transport electricity from oil and coal generators to the Island?
Would it be cheaper for the Island to generate all it’s own power?
As you have pointed out shipping electricity doubles it’s price.
“NIMBY brought them down. ”
You are misinformed regarding both your “NIMBY” statement and the cost.
https://patch.com/massachusetts/falmouth/falmouth-wind-turbine-removal-2-5-million-raises-questions
Katherine– I actually am not misinformed.
— check your sources– your post is an opinion piece
— my post is what the town of Falmouth actually spent.
Are you really going to defend the idea that these towers
were removed because they were providing electricity
at levels higher than the fossil fuel prices?
Show me —-
As is often the case there is a sliver of truth
in the opinion piece you reference. But what
that article is missing is that they pulled the
million dollar number from having the town
pay back the original loan.
They were ordered to stop them after neighbors
complained. That is the definition of NIMBY.
https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2022/06/06/wind-turbines-falmouth-demolished-after-years-struggle-renewable-energy/9943711002/
please note that the second paragraph
mentions the actual cost to bring the
turbines down and remove them .
They were removed because of neighbors, not because they did not work as specified.
Nothing to see here folks. From the Cape Cod Times ” The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust also agreed to accept a minimum payment of $975,000 from the town to resolve its loan. The initial loan the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust gave the town to build the turbines was $4,865,000.” So taxpayers are on the hook for just under $4 million for a failed green energy project. That’s comforting, let’s build some more!!
So the taxpayers are on the hook for just under $4 million for a failing to to honnor their windmill contracts.
Not to mention millions in lost power revenue.
The Falmouth turbines had no technical failures, they were dumped because they are “ugly”, even uglier that oil production platforms!
Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm was the first offshore wind farm in the world, erected in 1991 off the coast of the town of Vindeby on the Danish island of Lolland. It was decommissioned for in 2017 after 25 years of useful life.
How long do coal fired plants last?
“Remember it costs millions of dollars to dismantle” – liar
To drop them was under $100,000, it cost millions to back out of the contract (liquated damages) and millions more in lost power production.
Wind turbines. And the disruption of sea beds in the ocean, not to mention currents, fish, birds, butterflies, and just the building of them sounds like a plan for disaster. There are many alternatives that are less damaging to our already fragile ecosystems.
Our sacred seabeds, have been violated by those awful cables that bring electricity to Nantucket and the Vineyard.
Rip them out, Save the Whales.
“There are many alternatives that are less damaging to our already fragile ecosystems.
Put a nice little “Clean Coal” generator out at the airport, nobody lives there?
coco–do you really think that 62 pilings will alter the currents ?
“our beautiful island is becoming the testing ground for an untested solution for green energy”
America used to have 600,000 windmills. Modern electric windmills have been around for more than thirty years.
“As of January 2022, the U.S. Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB) contains more than 70,800 turbines. These turbines have all been constructed since 1980 in approximately 1,500 wind power projects spanning at least 44 states (plus Puerto Rico and Guam).
The SELL OUT is almost complete!
Yes the coal and oil industries and Conservatives have been sold out.
Elections have consequences.
Close to 80% of the Island rejected Trump.
Is it comforting to know that most of the permitting process was done under Trump’s leadership?
Wind mills are ugly. Oil drilling rigs and production platforms a pretty.
The emissions are to die for.
It is sad Aquinnah Selectmen thought they had the backing of their constituents without taking a vote of our people; without listening to the Tribe, who stated they were against the project. To sell out nature, especially the whales who save our carbon footprint more than any windmill will ever do. To sell us short, for a million dollars. You can’t buy back the destruction this will cause. The sonar on each pole, which confuses the navigating abilities of the dolphins and whales. How much does it cost to clean up the destruction of nature, which works in a balanced manor for free? Why do people come to our Town from all over the Island and world to marvel at the clear night skies, quiet beaches, clean water, and nature preserved?
Elise– would you be in favor of having oil wells this far from our sacred lands ?
Come on– the electricity that so many people blatantly waste has to come from somewhere.
If an oil rig were out there, we actually might loose the night skies–and if there were an accident spilling millions of gallons onto our beaches we might actually loose some marine mammals. By the way. there will be no sonar on any poles–
Where did you get that idea from ?
Elise, are you OK with oil rigs in our waters?
Should that kind of thing be kept out of sight of our beautiful Island?
Make other places produce our power?
Where ugly people live?
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