Wind Farm Near Martha’s Vineyard Wins Biden Approval

(Bloomberg) -- The Interior Department approved the 2.4-gigawatt SouthCoast Wind farm planned near the Massachusetts coast, marking likely the last offshore energy project of its kind to win authorization under outgoing President Joe Biden. 

The project would involve the construction of as many as 141 turbines and five offshore substation platforms about 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and 20 nautical miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. 

Friday’s decision comes at a pivotal time for the industry. Coastal states in the Northeast US are looking to offshore wind as a major source of emission-free power to help supply energy-hungry data centers, factories and electric vehicles. But the nascent industry has been spooked by the return of President-elect Donald Trump, a longstanding critic, because the projects depend on the federal government for critical approvals.

The SouthCoast Wind farm, owned by Ocean Winds North America LLC, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie, has been in the works for years, pursued on a lease the federal government sold in 2018 during Trump’s first term.

The approval marks the 11th for a commercial-scale offshore wind project under the Biden administration. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a news release cast the decision as part of an agenda of “addressing the climate crisis, creating jobs and building an enduring economy that supports all communities.”

The action represents a broad approval for the project, but the venture still needs a key federal authorization to begin construction, and right now, the US government says that is unlikely to come before late March, after Trump takes office. 

Trump in May cited concerns about offshore wind and promised “to write it out in an executive order,” without detailing specifics. A potential pause in offshore wind permitting could affect projects awaiting final authorizations. Analysts also have raised the specter of legal settlements and new Interior Department reviews of projects that are being challenged in federal court. 

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