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BOEM is reviewing a draft environmental impact statement on plans by offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource to build up to 15 turbines for the South Fork Wind Farm. BOEM image.
A draft environmental impact statement for the South Fork Wind Farm project off southern New England includes alternatives for a fishing vessel traffic lane and protecting ocean bottom habitat for fisheries.
Both could potentially displace preferred locations for up to 15 wind turbines of 6 to 12 megawatt capacity planned by project partners Ørsted and Eversource. The federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management is considering the companies’ construction and operations plan for the project 19 miles southeast of Block Island, R.I., and 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y.
The Martha s Vineyard Times
BOEM reopens review of Vineyard Wind
GE Haliade X are the turbines being proposed by Vineyard Wind. -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.
Reversing a Trump administration decision that canceled the process late last year, the Biden administration said Wednesday it would restart permitting for the first major U.S. offshore wind farm.
The Biden administration said on Wednesday it would restart permitting for the first key offshore wind farm in the United States, reversing a Trump administration decision that cancelled the process late last year.
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said in a statement it would resume an environmental review of the Vineyard Wind project as part of the administration’s broad plan to speed up renewable energy development on federal lands and waters.
“BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project,” Director Amanda Lefton said in the statement.
In December, Vineyard Wind requested a pause in the federal permitting process while it determined whether changes to its design were necessary because of a switch in turbine manufacturers, prompting BOEM to terminate its entire review.
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Vineyard Wind 1 (dark blue at center) would be the first offshore wind energy project among several planned on federal leases south of Martha s Vineyard and Nantucket. BOEM image.
A top New York energy and environment official who worked on her state’s drive for offshore wind energy, now director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, announced Wednesday the federal agency is resuming its environmental review of the Vineyard Wind project.
“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,” Amanda Lefton, formerly first assistant secretary for energy and environment in New York State. “BOEM is committed to conducting a robust and timely review of the proposed project.”