The Falmouth Enterprise article posted online 12/20/24 and printed on page 1, Friday, 12/27/24, is fully quoted here. If you would like to view the 226-page BOEM (U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) document “Record of Decision”, scroll below the Enterprise article for the link and a few note-worthy excerpts.
“SouthCoast Wind Project Gets Green Light From Biden Administration”:
From the Enterprise:
The SouthCoast Wind commercial offshore wind energy project has received approval from the Biden Administration.
The 2.4-gigawatt wind farm is slated to span 127,000 acres of federal waters 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and include 141 wind turbines—each standing 1,066 feet tall—and five offshore substation platforms, with undersea cables making landfall at Falmouth Heights and/or Brayton Point in Somerset.
The energy that the wind farm is expected to generate is enough to power more than 840,000 homes.
The US Department of the Interior sent out a press release last Friday, December 20, announcing the project has won approval from the department and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, making it the 11th commercial-scale offshore wind farm approved during the Biden presidency.
“As we mark this achievement, we look forward to the meaningful economic opportunities the SouthCoast Wind Project will bring to this region, both during construction and throughout the project’s lifetime,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Elizabeth Klein.
The project has secured several state permits and cleared a federal environmental review.
Opponents to the project have been critical of the permitting process, alleging it was rushed to completion before the end of President Biden’s term in office.
“I think it’s about time,” said Matthew C. Patrick, former Massachusetts state representative. “The environmental impacts are positive as far as I’m concerned … We are, as a region, definitely dependent on these wind turbines.”
Messages left by the Enterprise for opponents to SouthCoast Wind seeking comment were not returned by press time.
Asked what steps lie ahead for the turbine project, SouthCoast Wind provided only a general statement this week rather than offering specifics.
“We anticipate that during 2025, our project will continue to move forward as planned to supply abundant clean energy to meet the growing demand for electricity in New England,” wrote Rebecca Ullman, director of external affairs.
Despite last week’s federal approval, SouthCoast Wind’s future remains unclear as Donald Trump prepares to return to the Oval Office next month. President-elect Trump has vowed to make ending offshore wind developments a top priority of his first days in office.
Notes from FHMNA:
CLICK HERE to view the 226-page BOEM “Record of Decision” dated 12/20/24.
Although the wording in the decision is complicated, the decision seems to approve only the cables to Brayton Point.
See section 2.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: “The project would also include one variant EEC* which, if used, would make landfall and interconnect to the ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) grid in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts. In the event that technical, logistical, grid connections, or other unforeseen challenges arise during the design and engineering phase that prevent Project 2 from making interconnection at Brayton Point, Project 2 would use the Falmouth variant ECC and make landfall and interconnection in Falmouth.” (Partial quote.)
Also see section 5.3.2 USACE Public Notice and Comments which includes responses to 21 comments received in the 45 day request for comments from the public ending 4/4/23, especially this partial response to Commenter #11, president of Oak Grove Cemetery: “Since the publishing of USACE’s public notice for the proposed project, the applicant has revised the project plan to only land at Brayton Point. The Falmouth landing and subsequent converter station became a project “variant,” and the applicant would only utilize this Falmouth variant if all power generated by the overall project could not be transmitted to Brayton Point. If the proposed project receives DA** authorization, and the applicant determines they need to utilize the Falmouth variant, they would be required to request new DA authorization from USACE before they could construct the variant.” (Partial quote.)
*Export Cable Corridor
**Department of the Army