Offshore Wind Project Soon To Be Martha’s Vineyard’s Newest Neighbor

The first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. cleared a final hurdle on Monday when the Interior Department  announced it has completed the Vineyard Wind project’s final environmental review. The $2.8 billion project, repeatedly delayed by the Trump administration, would be constructed a dozen miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and will consist of 84 turbines generating about 800 megawatts of energy, enough to power 400,000 homes in New England beginning in 2023. The project must still receive final sign-off from the Army Corp of Engineers and NOAA in no more than 30 days. BOEM Director Amanda Lefton hailed the approval as a “really significant step” in the U.S. offshore industry, which lags far behind its European counterparts. “This is the day the U.S. offshore wind industry has been anxiously awaiting for years,” said the Business Network for Offshore Wind’s Liz Burdock. “Today’s announcement provides the regulatory greenlight the industry needs to attract investments and move projects forward.” (AP, Washington Post $, Politico Pro $, Reuters, E&E, Financial Times, SPG Global, The Hill)