Offshore wind project off Mass. coast seen as key to clean energy gets OK
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2016 file photo, three of Deepwater Wind s five turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I, the nation s first offshore wind farm. An offshore wind project off the island of Martha s Vineyard, off the Massachusetts coast, that would create 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 400,000 homes, was approved by the federal government Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Vineyard Wind project, south of Martha s Vineyard near Cape Cod, would be the first utility-scale wind power development in federal waters. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Federal government approves Vineyard Wind offshore wind project
Updated at 1:16 p.m. on May 11, 2021.
THE VINEYARD WIND offshore wind project has received federal approval.
An offshore wind project off Massachusetts that would create enough electricity to power 400,000 homes and is touted by backers as a key piece of America’s transition to renewable energy was approved Tuesday by the federal government.
The 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project, south of Martha’s Vineyard near Cape Cod, would be the first utility-scale wind power development in federal waters. The nearly $3 billion project is a critical part of the Biden administration’s plan to grow renewable energy in the U.S.
Offshore wind project seen as key to clean energy gets OK
PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press
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1of3FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2016 file photo, three of Deepwater Wind s five turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I, the nation s first offshore wind farm. An offshore wind project off the island of Martha s Vineyard, off the Massachusetts coast, that would create 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 400,000 homes, was approved by the federal government Tuesday, May 11, 2021. The Vineyard Wind project, south of Martha s Vineyard near Cape Cod, would be the first utility-scale wind power development in federal waters.Michael Dwyer/APShow MoreShow Less
The project would consist of 84 wind turbines located 12 nautical miles off Martha s Vineyard. The project and Ocean Wind, a proposed 1,100-megawatt offshore wind project off New Jersey, are keystones in the Biden administration s push to grow offshore wind as a way to fight climate change and create jobs.
Vineyard Wind follows the scrapped Cape Wind project, which failed after opposition from some high-profile liberals and conservatives alike. Supporters of Vineyard Wind have said the newer project is better sited than Cape Wind, which would ve been closer to shore, and that it s more in tune with today s political climate.
But Vineyard Wind also faces opposition. Commercial fishing businesses have said the growth of offshore wind projects off the East Coast would make it difficult for them to harvest valuable seafood species such as scallops and lobsters.