The 800MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind development off the US east coast will no longer reach commercial operation in 2022 as planned, after the federal government said that an updated environmental assessment will not be completed until December this year.
Vineyard Wind chief executive Lars Pedersen said a December decision by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will be “later than what was previously anticipated”.
He said: “While we need to analyse what a longer permitting timeline will mean for beginning construction, commercial operation in 2022 is no longer expected.
“We look forward to the clarity that will come with a final EIS so that Vineyard Wind can deliver this project to Massachusetts and kick off the new US offshore energy industry.”
The developer gave no indication of when it expected the project to come online.
The American Wind Energy Association said the BOEM schedule for reviewing Vineyard Wind’s FEIS “provides important clarity for the burgeoning US offshore wind industry”.
AWEA senior director of offshore policy and regulatory affairs Laura Morton said: “Moving forward, it’s critical Interior meet or accelerate the announced schedule, expedite the review for other offshore wind projects under development, and move forward with auctions for new wind energy lease areas, which will create thousands of new jobs and economic opportunities nationwide.”
BOEM announced in August last year that it would carry out a supplemental EIS to assess the cumulative impact of multiple offshore wind farms being developed off the US east coast.