BOSTON, Massachusetts, December 5, 2024 (ENS) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a draft Clean Air Act Outer Continental Shelf air quality permit for Southcoast Wind LLC’s offshore wind farm. If finalized, the permit enables the construction and operation of the nearly 150 wind turbines for the wind development area in federal waters south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
SouthCoast Wind expects to deliver the first 1,200 megawatts of energy via SouthCoast Wind 1, connecting to the New England regional electric grid at Brayton Point in Somerset, Massachusetts “by the end of the 2020s,” the company said.
SouthCoast Wind is also looking at Brayton Point for interconnection of the second 1,200 MW of electricity generated in the lease area. Falmouth, Massachusetts remains an option for this second phase while grid capacity and timing of necessary upgrades are determined.
A summer retreat with a unique blend of cosmopolitan taste and small-town charm, each year the island of Nantucket welcomes a multitude of global visitors drawn to the beautiful island and its artistic community.
With its cobblestone streets, luxurious dining establishments, high-end hotels, and quaint inns, Nantucket considers itself a world-class destination. Art galleries, a picturesque harbor, and museums add to the fun. Downtown features boutique shopkeepers and innkeepers who offer hospitality and enjoy a thriving business serving visitors.
Nantucket has 82 miles of pristine beaches, most open to the public. Over half the island is conservation land, closed to development.
SouthCoast Wind is a joint venture wind farm between Shell Renewables and Ocean Winds proposed for a location 23 miles south of Nantucket on the Outer Continental Shelf. If approved, there will be up to 147 turbines standing up to 1,066 feet tall, topped with red flashing aviation lights and showing lower platform lights for maritime navigation.
In addition to the 147 wind turbines, the project includes up to five offshore substation platforms, and up to eight offshore export cables that would make landfall in Brayton Point or Falmouth, Massachusetts. The lease area covers 127,388 acres and is about 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 nm south of Nantucket.
“When built, the Southcoast Wind project will contribute up to 2.4 gigawatts of energy, powering over one million homes,” said an optimistic EPA New England Regional Administrator David Cash.
“New England continues to lead the way to our clean energy future, growing clean tech jobs, and making sure our communities most overburdened by air pollution can breathe clean air and take advantage of green workforce development,” Cash said.
EPA’s proposed approval is in concert with other federal reviews and approvals for the project, including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s environmental review done as part of the National Environmental Policy Act.
But the Town and County of Nantucket are opposed to the Southcoast Wind offshore turbine array, saying that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, BOEM, has failed to address critical deficiencies in the permitting process, including:
- – Inadequate mitigation for the adverse visual effects on Nantucket Historic District National Historic Landmark
- – No legitimate plan to address future turbine failures, which could harm our beaches and environment
- – Insufficient decommissioning funding to ensure timely removal of turbines at the end of their useful life
Despite these concerns, BOEM has proposed only $150,000 for historic property and archaeological surveys that the town has not requested. “This is an inadequate response that fails to meet the standards of meaningful mitigation under the National Historic Preservation Act,” the town and county say.
“Clean energy goals and the preservation of Nantucket’s unique historic character are not mutually exclusive,” the town and county say. “Indeed, the historic preservation movement has been a leader in finding creative ways to address climate change and sea level rise.”
“Communities like Nantucket with significant inventories of historic properties connected to historic ocean viewsheds have legal rights under the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act that too often get overlooked,” the town and county argue. “Under these federal statutes, and related state laws, federal agencies have a duty to assess adverse effects on historic and cultural resources and find ways through consultation to avoid, minimize, or mitigate harm.”
“Adverse effects of offshore wind farms include, but are not limited to visual impacts, lighting impacts, and harm to local economies that depend on the preservation and protection of historic ocean landscapes,” Nantucket says on its website.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, says scientists around the world are still investigating the potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on marine life. Site assessment, construction, and operations could interact with marine life on the seabed, in the water, and at the surface, the agency warns.
For example, offshore wind energy projects could:
- Increase ocean noise, which could affect the behaviors of fish, whales, and other species
- Introduce electro-magnetic fields that impact navigation, predator detection, communication, and the ability for fish and shellfish to find mates
- Change existing habitats by altering local or regional hydrodynamics
- Create a “reef effect” where marine life cluster around the hard surfaces of wind developments
- Impact organism life cycle stages, including larval dispersal and spawning
- Change species composition, abundance, distribution, and survival rates
- Increase vessel traffic, which could lead to more vessel strikes on marine mammals
- Release contaminants that can be consumed or absorbed by marine life
The Southcoast Wind project’s primary emission sources are compression-ignition internal combustion engines (CI-ICEs) like the engines on vessels operating at the wind farm, generator engines installed on the offshore substation platforms, and wind turbine generators.
Other emission units at this facility, including the medium voltage and high-voltage gas insulated switchgear on the offshore substation platforms, were also subject to a review of best achievable control technologies.
But BOEM officials say they are satisfied with the results of the environmental reviews.
“Tribal nations, federal and state agencies, local communities, ocean users, and key stakeholders have been instrumental in informing BOEM’s detailed environmental review of the proposed SouthCoast Wind Project,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein.
“Completing this environmental review represents another major milestone in the administration’s commitment to achieving clean energy objectives that will benefit local communities,” she said.
NOAA Fisheries does not anticipate and has not authorized, or proposed to authorize, death or serious injury of whales for any wind-related action.
The public comment period for the draft permit will remain open from November 15, 2024, to January 6, 2025. Click here to submit comments on the Preliminary Designation and the Draft Permit at Docket ID #EPA-R01-OAR-2024-0393. All comments must be received by January 6, 2025.
In addition, the EPA will hold a public hearing for the Outer Continental Shelf air permit at 6:00 pm EST on December 18, 2024. EPA says it will “consider all significant comments and make appropriate changes before issuing this permit.”
Outer Continental Shelf Air Regulations, found at 40 CFR part 55, establish the applicable air pollution control requirements for offshore wind facilities.
Click here to view electronic copies of the permits, fact sheets, virtual public hearing information, and all supporting materials on EPA’s website.
Featured image: Block Island Wind Farm offshore the State of Rhode Island just south of Massachusetts was the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Commissioned in December 2016, the five-turbine, 30 megawatt project was developed by Deepwater Wind, now known as Ørsted US Offshore Wind. (Photo by Dennis Schroeder / National Renewable Energy Lab)
