New Offshore Wind Project South Of Nantucket Nabs Key State Permits

One of the offshore wind projects negotiating a contract with Massachusetts utility companies said it recently secured key state permits that keep it on track to deliver power to New England's electric grid by 2030.

SouthCoast Wind, a project owned by OW Ocean Winds and slated to be built south of Nantucket, announced Friday that the Energy Facilities Siting Board unanimously approved its request to construct and operate transmission facilities at Brayton Point in Somerset, the Department of Environmental Protection granted a Chapter 91 waterways license for project-related nearshore equipment and related work, and the Office of Coastal Zone Management signed off on its project's Federal Consistency Review.

SouthCoast Wind said the proposed cable route that was approved would run through federal and Massachusetts state waters from the project site about 23 miles south of Nantucket. It would run up Rhode Island's Sakonnet River and cross a portion of Portsmouth, R.I., into Mt. Hope Bay. The permit also approved a cable route from Mt. Hope Bay, up the Lee River and into Brayton Point in Somerset, close to the location of a planned converter station and electric grid connection.

"These important permitting milestones bring our project closer to construction. We are grateful to the Commonwealth’s thorough review and look forward to providing clean power, good jobs and economic growth to the region," Jennifer Flood, head of permitting for SouthCoast Wind and Ocean Winds North America, said.

SouthCoast Wind believes its project has the potential to generate over 2,400 megawatts (MW), or enough to power over 1 million homes. Its wind turbines would occupy a 199-square mile area, which was awarded through an auction by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The 149 wind turbines would transfer power through two cables making landfall at connection points at the Brayton Point/Somerset area of Buzzards Bay, and in Falmouth.

Representatives from SouthCoast Wind visited Nantucket February 2023 and received a tepid response, including one island resident who dressed up as a whale in protest.

Massachusetts selected 1,087 MW of the 1,287 MW SouthCoast Wind project in its most recent wind procurement round, with the remaining 200 MW going to Rhode Island. Project developers and utility companies in both states are now negotiating long-term contract terms, a process that is expected to wrap up this winter.

SouthCoast Wind's bid document refers to the project as a "fully bankable project ready to start construction in 2025" and project officials have said they anticipate being able to deliver power in 2030. The company said Friday that the latest permit approvals "keep the SouthCoast Wind 1 project on track to deliver its clean offshore wind energy to the New England regional electric grid by 2030."

SouthCoast Wind was previously chosen to deliver a cumulative 1,200 MW to Massachusetts, but the developer canceled the contract last year amid escalating costs and rebid it in the latest procurement round. Project pricing information has not been released to date.