Biden administration announces 1st federal offshore wind farm

“A clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said.File Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI

By Danielle Haynes

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced the construction of a new wind farm off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard as part of a goal to generate 30 gigawatts of energy by 2030.

It’s the first wind farm project to be approved for federal waters.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo revealed details about the newly approved Vineyard Wind project. It’ll be located about 12 nautical miles off Martha’s Vineyard and 12 nautical miles off Nantucket, Mass.

“A clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States. The approval of this project is an important step toward advancing the administration's goals to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation,” Haaland said.

The 800-megawatt project would produce enough energy to power up to 400,000 homes, the Interior Department said. It will cost $2.1 billion and is expected to create some 3,600 jobs in the area.

The federal approval will allow for a maximum of 84 wind turbines to be installed off Massachusetts, with at least 1 nautical mile between each turbine in both the north-south and east-west directions. The positioning and spacing will be in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard recommendations, the Biden administration said.

The Interior Department said the project will avoid or minimize potential adverse environmental effects in coordination with tribal, federal and state agencies.

“We will continue to advance new projects that will incorporate lessons learned from analyzing this project to ensure an efficient and predictable process for industry and stakeholders,” Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Amanda Lefton said.

Raimondo said the project was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to combat climate change and create tens of thousands of union jobs in clean energy.

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