New England Wind power challenge is positioned offshore Massachusetts
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has introduced the supply of its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed New England Wind power challenge offshore Massachusetts. If accredited, this proposed 2,600-megawatt challenge may present energy for greater than 900,000 properties.
Under the Biden Administration, BOEM has initiated the environmental overview of ten initiatives, with extra to come back. Of these, New England Wind represents the sixth challenge to achieve the DEIS stage of overview by BOEM. In addition to right now’s motion, the Department of the Interior has accredited the nation’s first two business scale offshore wind initiatives and has held three offshore wind lease auctions. Other milestones achieved in 2022 embrace the identification of two ultimate Wind Energy Areas within the Gulf of Mexico and eight draft Wind Energy Areas within the Central Atlantic.
The New England Wind draft EIS can be found on BOEM’s website, and the discover of availability will publish within the Federal Register on Dec. 23, 2022, which can open a 60-day public remark interval that ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 21, 2023. The enter obtained through this course of will inform preparation of the ultimate EIS.
Park City, LLC submitted a building and operation plan (COP) for its proposal to develop a wind power facility and its related export cables on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Massachusetts. Park City proposes to develop the lease space in two phases, referred to as Park City Wind (Phase 1) and Commonwealth Wind (Phase 2), collectively known as New England Wind.
“For two years, the Biden-Harris administration has worked diligently to advance the U.S. offshore wind industry through executive action and meticulous permitting review, and that hard work is set to pay off in the next year,” mentioned Liz Burdock, founder and CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind. “U.S. offshore wind was already primed for an historic year in 2023 with two commercial projects expected to continue construction – now, including New England Wind, BOEM could approve six more projects for construction, representing up to 11 GW in offshore wind capacity and enough to power nearly 4 million homes. An approved project pipeline of this size instantly makes the U.S. a top global market and will go a long way to supporting existing and driving new supply chain investments domestically.”
