Administration approves offshore wind project
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Biden administration announced last week that it approved the construction and operation of the first large-scale offshore wind project in the United States.
Vineyard Wind, an 84-turbine, 800-megawatt project, will be 12 nautical miles offshore from Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and will create 3,600 jobs and provide enough power for 400,000 homes and businesses, according to the administration.
“A clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in a statement. “The approval of this project is an important step toward advancing the Administration’s goals to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation. Today is one of many actions we are determined to take to open the doors of economic opportunity to more Americans.”
Questions linger regarding offshore wind’s economic, environmental impact in the US
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Beyond the Biden administration’s sunny outlook on prospects for a new U.S. offshore wind power industry, concerns among federal government experts continue to crop up about how building ocean turbine arrays could affect the fishing industry and the protection of endangered whales.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued its final record of decision on 11 May to permit Vineyard Wind, the 800-megawatt project off southern New England that would be the first truly utility-scale development in U.S. waters.
So far, the only offshore wind operating in the country is at two pilot projects: the five-turbine, 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island, and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which involves twin turbines with 12-megawatt total capacity. With nearly three decades of offshore wind experience in Europe, companies based there are exporting thei
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The 14-megawatt GE Haliade-X turbines planned for Vineyard Wind would stand more than 800 feet above sea level. GE image.
Beyond the Biden administration’s sunny outlook on prospects for a new U.S. offshore wind power industry, concerns continue among federal government experts about how building ocean turbine arrays could affect the fishing industry and protecting endangered whales.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its final record of decision May 11 to permit Vineyard Wind, the 800-megawatt project off southern New England that would be the first truly utility-scale development in U.S. waters.
So far, the only offshore wind operating here is at two pilot projects, the five-turbine, 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island, and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, twin turbines with 12 MW total capacity. With nearly three decades of offshore wind experience in Europe, companies based there are exporting their expertise to the U.S.
“While Vineyard Wind is not authorized to prevent free access to the entire wind development area, due to the placement of the turbines it is likely that the entire 75,614 acre area will be abandoned by commercial fisheries due to difficulties with navigation.”
The statement represents the worst-case scenario for fishermen and contradicts what Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management director Amanda Lefton said last Tuesday in a press call on the approval about their hopes of having the two industries coexist.
It also runs counter to other parts of the written decision that say that spacing between the turbines and their uniform layout in a grid pattern will allow for safe passage of vessels within the 800-megawatt wind farm.
Biden administration approves first big U.S. offshore wind farm Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
A wind farm off the shores of Block Island, Rhode Island | AFP-JIJI
Bloomberg May 12, 2021
The long-stalled push to build massive wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean along the U.S. East Coast took a crucial step forward Tuesday as the Biden administration approved plans for a project off Martha’s Vineyard.
The $2.8 billion installation proposed by Vineyard Wind LLC will be the first major wind farm in waters off the U.S., which has lagged behind Europe and Asia in generating power at sea. It sets the stage for other developers seeking approval to build more than a dozen other wind projects from Massachusetts to North Carolina.