BOEM approves SouthCoast Wind

Written by Marine Log Staff

Photo: SouthCoast Wind

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Friday announced the approval of the SouthCoast Wind project (formerly Mayflower Wind), located over 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket.

It is the 11th commercial-scale offshore wind energy project approved during the Biden administration.

With Friday’s approval of SouthCoast Wind, BOEM has approved over 19 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy from offshore wind energy projects – enough to power more than 6 million homes.

“When we walked in the door of this administration, there were zero approved, commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters. Today, I am proud to celebrate our 11th approval, a testament to the commitment and enduring progress made by the hardworking public servants at the Department of the Interior,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

The SouthCoast Wind project is expected to generate up to 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy for Massachusetts and Rhode Island, enough to power more than 840,000 homes. The project area covers approximately 127,388 acres.

The project, as approved, includes the construction of up to 141 wind turbine generators and up to five offshore substation platforms located at a maximum of 143 positions, and up to eight offshore export cables potentially making landfall in Brayton Point or Falmouth, Mass.

Compared to SouthCoast Win’s original proposed project, the selected alternative removes up to six wind turbine positions in the northeastern portion of the Lease Area to reduce potential impacts on foraging habitat and potential displacement of wildlife from this habitat adjacent to Nantucket Shoals.

On November 8, 2024, BOEM announced the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed project, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the activities outlined in the project’s construction and operations plan and considered reasonable alternatives. The “Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC’s Proposed SouthCoast Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island” will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days.