The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed SouthCoast Wind Project.
If approved, the project could generate up to 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy, enough to power more than 800,000 homes.
BOEM director Elizabeth Klein said: “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.
“Completing this environmental review represents another major milestone in the administration’s commitment to achieving clean energy objectives that will benefit local communities.”
The SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC proposal includes up to 147 wind turbine generators, up to five offshore substation platforms located at a maximum of 149 positions, and up to eight offshore export cables potentially making landfall in Brayton Point or Falmouth, Massachusetts.
The lease area covers approximately 127,388 acres and is about 26 nautical miles (Nm) south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20Nm south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
During a 60-day public comment period from February to April 2023, BOEM held three virtual public meetings to receive input on the draft EIS from tribal nations, local community members, government partners, commercial fishing interests, and other ocean users. BOEM received 182 comments, which helped inform the final EIS.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of the Interior has approved more than 15GW of clean energy from ten offshore wind projects, enough to power nearly 5.25 million homes.
It has also held six offshore wind lease auctions, including a record-breaking sale offshore New York and New Jersey and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts.
Earlier this year, Secretary Deb Haaland announced a schedule of potential additional lease sales through 2028.
The Biden-Harris administration had set a target to deploy 30GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.