Huge New Area Soon to Open for Offshore Wind Power in New England

On January 29, the Department of Interior (DOI) will auction off the largest area of federal waters in the nation for the development of offshore wind power.  More than 742,000 acres, or over 1,160 square miles, will be offered for wind development off the coast of Massachusetts.  While the U.S. is yet to install its first offshore wind turbine, across the Atlantic the offshore wind industry is booming.  In the first six months of 2014, Europe connected 224 offshore wind turbines in 16 wind farms to its grid.  Overall, Europe has over 2,000 offshore turbines.

The opening of these waters south of Martha’s Vineyard comes at an inauspicious moment for U.S. offshore wind as the long-sought nearby Cape Wind project is all but dead, according to the Boston Globe, after suffering a decade of “controversy and mismanagement.”

What could be the final blow for Cape Wind came earlier this month as two major power companies that had agreed to purchase the bulk of the wind power pulled out of their contracts after a critical financing and construction deadline for the $2.5 billion project was missed.  In an editorial, the Globe states that Cape Wind’s “misfortunes should not block an industry that the nation and particularly Massachusetts — with few other sources of energy — needs for a truly renewable future.”

The DOI and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) feel the same way.

“This sale will triple the amount of federal offshore acreage available for commercial-scale wind energy projects, bringing Massachusetts to the forefront of our nation’s new energy frontier,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in a statement announcing the competitive lease sale.  As of earlier this month, 12 companies had been deemed qualified to participate in the auction.

Read more at Huge New Area Soon to Open for Offshore Wind Power in New England