The Division of the Inside and the Bureau of Ocean Power Administration have accepted the SouthCoast Wind Undertaking, a 2.4 GW offshore wind improvement overlaying greater than 125,000 acres about 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Winery and 20 nm south of Nantucket, Mass.
The undertaking, as accepted, contains the development of as much as 141 wind generators and as much as 5 offshore substation platforms positioned at a most of 143 positions, and as much as eight offshore export cables probably making landfall in Brayton Level or Falmouth, Mass.
In comparison with SouthCoast’s unique proposed undertaking, the chosen different removes as much as 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 from this habitat adjoining to Nantucket Shoals.
In November, BOEM introduced the ultimate Environmental Influence Assertion (EIS) for the proposed undertaking, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the actions outlined within the undertaking’s development and operations plan and thought of cheap alternate options. BOEM facilitated three digital public conferences in March 2023 to gather essential suggestions on the SouthCoast Wind draft EIS from Tribal Nations, local people members, industrial fishing pursuits, and different ocean customers. BOEM developed required measures to keep away from, decrease, and mitigate the undertaking’s potential environmental impacts, based mostly on the great evaluation and suggestions obtained in the course of the environmental evaluation course of.
SouthCoast Wind is the nation’s eleventh commercial-scale offshore wind vitality undertaking accepted underneath President Joe Biden.
For extra info on SouthCoast Wind, go to BOEM’s web site.
Picture credit score BOEM @ X
