The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced the availability of the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed SouthCoast Wind Project. If approved, this project could generate up to 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power more than 800,000 homes.
“Tribal nations, federal and state agencies, local communities, ocean users, and key stakeholders have been instrumental in informing BOEM’s detailed environmental review of the proposed SouthCoast Wind Project,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. “Completing this environmental review represents another major milestone in the administration’s commitment to achieving clean-energy objectives that will benefit local communities.”
The SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC proposal includes up to 147 wind turbine generators, up to five offshore substation platforms at a maximum of 149 positions, and up to eight offshore export cables potentially making landfall in Brayton Point or Falmouth, Massachusetts. The lease area covers about 127,388 acres and is about 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 nautical miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
During the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior has approved more than 15 GW of clean energy from 10 offshore wind projects, enough to power nearly 5.25 million homes. It has also held six offshore wind-lease auctions, including the first-ever sales offshore on the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced a schedule of potential additional lease sales through 2028.
More info www.boem.gov
