A mission to construct as much as 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy for Massachusetts and Rhode Island has obtained approval for its Building and Operations Plan from the US Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration (BOEM).
SouthCoast Wind by Ocean Winds, a 50-50 enterprise between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, will be capable to energy over 840,000 houses, in accordance with BOEM.
Situated about 26 nautical south of Martha’s Winery and 20 nautical miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the mission contains 141 wind turbine turbines, as much as 5 offshore substation platforms and as much as eight offshore export cables. SouthCoast Wind spans almost 130,000 acres, in accordance with the Inside Division sub-agency.
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“In comparison with SouthCoast’s unique proposed mission, the chosen different removes six wind turbine positions within the northeastern portion of the lease space to scale back potential impacts on foraging habitat and potential displacement of wildlife”, BOEM stated in an internet assertion. It issued a constructive Report of Choice, or an preliminary approval, final month.
“BOEM thought of suggestions from Tribal Nations, authorities businesses, ocean customers, and different events earlier than reaching this determination. The suggestions resulted in required measures to keep away from, decrease, or mitigate any potential impacts from the mission on marine life and different necessary ocean makes use of, reminiscent of fishing”.
BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein stated, “Our offshore wind vitality initiatives are opening doorways to significant financial alternatives by producing jobs, boosting financial development, and combating local weather change”.
SouthCoast has raised the entire capability of federally accredited offshore wind energy initiatives to over 19 GW.
The Biden administration has held six offshore wind lease auctions together with for areas off the Carolinas, New Jersey, New York and the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
On April 24, 2024, Inside Secretary Deb Haaland introduced a brand new five-year offshore wind leasing plan for the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific and U.S. territories. 4 awards had been deliberate for 2024, one every for 2025 and 2026, two for 2027 and 4 for 2028.
Early this month BOEM issued a Name for Data and Nominations to assist it resolve on potential leasing areas for wind vitality improvement offshore Guam.
The decision considerations a contiguous space across the island that contains about 2.1 million acres. The realm’s water depths vary from 350 meters (1,148.29 ft) to 2,200 meters (7,217.85 ft), BOEM stated January 3, 2025.
Closing April 7, 2025, the remark interval seeks “related data on website situations, marine assets, and ocean makes use of close to or inside the name space”, the BOEM stated. “Concurrently, wind vitality corporations can nominate particular areas they wish to see supplied for leasing.
“Throughout the name remark interval, BOEM will have interaction with Indigenous Peoples, stakeholder organizations, ocean customers, federal businesses, the federal government of Guam, and different events to determine conflicts early within the course of as BOEM seeks to determine areas the place offshore wind improvement would have the least influence”.
The following step could be the identification of particular WEAs, or wind vitality areas, within the bigger name space. BOEM would then conduct environmental evaluations of the WEAs in session with completely different stakeholders. “After finishing its environmental evaluations and consultations, BOEM could suggest a number of aggressive lease gross sales for areas inside the WEAs”, BOEM stated.
The U.S. goals to achieve 30 GW of offshore wind deployment by 2030, towards not less than 110 GW by 2050, as introduced by the Vitality Division March 29, 2021.
To contact the writer, e-mail jov.onsat@rigzone.com
