The US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) is delaying the approval of the Federal Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 800MW Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.
BOEM wants to conduct a supplemental study.
A statement from the project developer, Vineyard Wind LLC, said the federal government’s decision comes “as a surprise and disappointment”.
The statement added: “To be clear, the Vineyard Wind 1 project remains viable and is committed to move forward.
“While we appreciate that the discussion on cumulative impacts is driven by rapid growth of the industry beyond our project, we urge the federal government to complete the review of Vineyard Wind 1 as quickly as possible.”
Despite the delay, the developer said it remains “deeply committed” to the emerging industry’s success.
“We firmly believe that once regulators are fully satisfied, our project and dozens of others will deliver billions of dollars of new investment in ports, enhanced energy independence, and above all, high-paying, long-term jobs for thousands of Americans,” the statement said.
Business Network for Offshore Wind chief executive Liz Burdock said the decision to delay the approval of the FEIS for the project and expand the environmental review is “a step in the wrong direction”.
Burdock added that the ruling also contradicts the Trump administration’s objective of reducing regulatory constraints on business growth.
She said: “Requiring a project to assess the impacts of all potential future projects, even though those future projects are not yet defined, is extraordinary.
“This requirement adds cumbersome regulatory hurdles to an already long and arduous process – a process that the industry has thus far responded to with rigor, showing that this form of energy production is safe, protective of the environment, stimulating to the economy, and in keeping with the needs of all commercial interests.”
The Offshore Wind Business Network encouraged BOEM to provide a ruling that follows the original timeline agreed to with the Vineyard project.