Nantucket Appeals Federal Approval Of SouthCoast Wind Project

The town of Nantucket is appealing the federal government's approval of the SouthCoast Wind project slated to be built southwest of the island, citing a "rushed and faulty" permitting process as well as the wind farm's impact on Nantucket's National Historic Landmark status. 

"Despite acknowledging the adverse impacts that SouthCoast Wind and neighboring farms will have on Nantucket, BOEM (the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) violated the law by conducting a sham consulting process to achieve a predetermined conclusion, namely approval of SouthCoast Wind, effectively putting into practice a false narrative pushed by offshore wind developers that climate change solutions should come at the expense of a community's history, culture, and economy," the town stated in its complaint. "Rather than complying with federal law, BOEM bypassed or shortchanged numerous required steps, shirked its responsibility to the public, and allowed corporate energy developers to dictate the terms of permitting."

The appeal, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to have BOEM's decision to permit SouthCoast Wind be vacated and remanded back to the agency for further consideration.

“Nantucket is a premier international destination for our commitment to preservation,” Nantucket Select Board Chair Brooke Mohr said in a statement released with the town's announcement of the appeal. “Despite our repeated attempts to help BOEM and the developer find balance between the nation’s renewable energy goals and the protection of what makes us unique, they have refused to work with us and to follow the law. We are taking action to hold them accountable. Our community should not bear the consequences of their poor planning.”

SouthCoast Wind representatives did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The 16-page appeal, which was filed by Cultural Heritage Partners, the town's special counsel for offshore wind matters, alleges that BOEM violated the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”) and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) in issuing the permit for SouthCoast Wind. 

“This is not about protecting rich people’s views," said Nantucket Select Board vice chair Matt Fee in a statement. "Our entire economy depends on heritage tourism. If people no longer want to come to Nantucket, that has a real impact on our small businesses and the people who operate them."

The 2.4 GW offshore wind farm is slated to be built 20 nautical miles southeast of the island. As approved, SouthCoast Wind will include 141 wind turbines and five offshore substation platforms, with undersea cables extending west of Nantucket and making landfall in Brayton Point and Falmouth. Each of SouthCoast Wind's turbines were permitted to be up to 1,066 feet tall - even higher than Vineyard Wind's turbines, which are 853 feet tall.

The town's decision to appeal SouthCoast Wind comes amid a completely changed political landscape under President Donald Trump's administration. Trump's executive order signed on his inauguration day in January immediately halted any new federal leases for offshore wind projects. It also sets the stage for his administration to terminate or amend existing wind energy leases - including for projects such as Vineyard Wind and SouthCoast Wind - following a review by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. That review will focus on "the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal."

The change in administration, in fact, was noted in the town's complaint, which states that Trump's executive order was issued "in recognition of BOEM's problematic permitting reviews..."

The appeal represents a drastic departure from the town's previous approach to the nine offshore wind projects in various stages of construction or planning off Nantucket's southwestern shores. Less than five years ago, the town entered into a "Good Neighbor Agreement" with Vineyard Wind, forfeiting any potential challenge or legal appeal and agreeing to support the offshore wind project in exchange for $16 million to mitigate the potential historical, cultural, and economic impacts of the turbines on Nantucket. Vineyard Wind also agreed to several other concessions, including the removal of the row of turbines closest to the island, painting the turbines a “non-reflective off-white/light gray color to blend into the horizon” and installing an aircraft detection lighting system (ADLS) which will only turn on if there is an aircraft in proximity to the turbines.

Despite the July 2024 blade failure at Vineyard Wind that littered the island's beaches with debris and the company's failure to notify town officials in a timely manner regarding the blade failure as well as a subsequent lightning strike on the turbine in February, the town remains in the agreement. Another non-profit entity that was part of the Good Neighbor Agreement, the Maria Mitchell Association, pulled out of the pact in October 2024, alleging the offshore wind company had breached the terms of the agreement.

Cultural Heritage Partners claims that while the town was prepared to appeal Vineyard Wind's permit, the developer's concessions in the Good Neighbor Agreement resulted in a different outcome.

"At the conclusion of Vineyard Wind’s permitting review, BOEM refused to require appropriate ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects as the law requires," the law firm wrote on the town's website. "The Town was prepared to file an appeal. However, Vineyard Wind determined that it was in its interest to offer to address the Town’s concerns directly. In negotiations, the Town secured important project design changes to reduce adverse visual impacts to Nantucket...Because Vineyard Wind voluntarily complied with the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act despite BOEM providing cover to avoid those requirements, the Town would not have a strong legal basis for appealing BOEM’s permitting."

This is a developing story and will be updated.