Massachusetts Provides Approvals for Large, Two-State Offshore Wind Farm

 

New England’s next large offshore wind farm known as SouthCoast Wind and one of the first projects to supply power to two states has moved a step closer with key regulatory approvals. Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGINE, has received several important approvals from Massachusetts in the permitting process for its first offshore wind project while Rhode Island continues to review the applications. 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) unanimously approved SouthCoast Wind’s request to construct and operate transmission facilities at Brayton Point in Somerset, MA. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection also granted a Ch. 91 Waterways license for project-related nearshore equipment and work and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management signed off on the project’s Federal Consistency Review.

“These important permitting milestones bring our project closer to construction,” said Jennifer Flood, Head of Permitting for SouthCoast Wind and Ocean Winds North America. She notes these approvals keep the SouthCoast Wind 1 project on track to deliver its offshore wind energy to the New England regional electric grid by 2030.

The MA EFSB noted that SouthCoast Wind 1 Project “is superior to the other alternatives evaluated with respect to cost, environmental impact, meeting the identified need, and providing a reliable energy supply for the Commonwealth with minimum impact on the environment at the lowest possible cost.” The EFSB approval includes set construction hours and ongoing monitoring of air and seabed conditions by SouthCoast Wind.

The company continues to target commencing project construction in late 2025, once it has received all federal, state, and local permits. The company however has not made a final investment decision on the plan.

SouthCoast Wind’s offshore lease area is in federal waters 23 miles south of Nantucket and the proposed cable route runs through federal and Massachusetts state waters, Rhode Island’s Sakonnet River, across a portion of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and into Mt. Hope Bay. The permit also approves a cable route that will go from Mt. Hope Bay, travel up the Lee River, and enter Brayton Point in Somerset, MA close to the location of its planned converter station and electric grid connection.

SouthCoast Wind was awarded power purchase agreements with Massachusetts and Rhode Island to provide a total of 1,287 MW. It is currently negotiating contracts with each state’s largest utilities.

Ocean Winds notes that the project represents one of the largest ever energy investments in southern New England and will revitalize Brayton Point, a former coal-fired power plant, as a clean energy hub. The plant located in Somerset, was once the largest coal-fired power plant in New England.

The plan calls for two phases that would provide up to 2.4 GW of electric power. The lease area is off the coast of Massachusetts, but the neighboring states launched a coordinated solicitation which was completed earlier this year. The coordinated approach allowed companies to balance their risks and develop more efficient plans to meet New England’s broader power requirements.