The proposed offshore wind farm Vineyard Wind received final approval from the Biden administration yesterday when the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a record of decision for the 800 megawatt project.
The approval was the last major hurdle for Vineyard Wind before it can to proceed with construction of up to 84 wind turbines in the waters 12 miles south of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. It would be the first commercial scale offshore wind farm construction in the United States, capable of generating enough power for at least 400,000 homes.
The $3 billion Vineyard Wind project is a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Its turbines would be manufactured by General Electric, and the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal will be the primary staging area and deployment base for the project.
“Massachusetts should be proud that this decision launches the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project on the Commonwealth’s shores,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. “This groundbreaking project will produce affordable, renewable energy, create jobs and prove Massachusetts developed a successful model for developing offshore wind energy. We appreciate the federal government’s partnership to grant this approval and look forward to working with Vineyard Wind to create thousands of jobs and set the Commonwealth on a path to achieve net zero emissions.”
Vineyard Wind’s location is just one slice of a vast offshore area covering more than 400,000 acres identified by state and federal authorities for wind energy projects that has been or will be auctioned off. Vineyard Wind and Mayflower Wind won the contracts for the previous two rounds of bidding, and a third will be announced in December.
