Green light for SouthCoast Wind offshore New England
The outgoing US administration has approved the SouthCoast Wind Project offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which is set to generate up to 2.4 GW of offshore wind power for local users, according to a Dec. 20 BOEM announcement.
The 127,388-acre project area is about 26 nautical miles (nm) south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 nm south of Nantucket, Mass.
It will involve construction of up to 141 wind turbine generators and up to five offshore substation platforms at a maximum of 143 positions. Up to eight offshore export cables could make landfall in Brayton Point or Falmouth, Mass.
The scaled back version of the original proposal removes up to six wind turbine positions in the northeastern part of the lease area to lessen impacts on wildlife, notably adjacent to Nantucket Shoals.
