Town Turns Its Attention To Next Wind Farm On The Horizon: SouthCoast Wind

Even as the town continues to address the fallout from the July 13th blade failure at Vineyard Wind, it is now turning its attention to the next offshore wind farm slated to be built in the waters off Nantucket.

SouthCoast Wind is a 2,400 megawatt offshore wind project slated for an area approximately 23 miles southwest of the island consisting of 149 wind turbines, each standing 1,066 feet tall - even higher than Vineyard Wind's turbines which are 853 feet tall. The project recently secured key state permits and completed an environmental review by the federal government.

The final environmental impact statement for SouthCoast Wind released by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) concluded that the visibility of SouthCoast Wind's turbines "would have long-term, continuous, and moderate impacts on the Nantucket Historic District."

The town is already objecting to SouthCoast Wind's proposed mitigation efforts - just $150,000 for historic property surveys and archeological assessments - to limit the impact of the offshore energy development on the island.

"SouthCoast Wind is expected to be highly visible," the town stated in a recent announcement. "Yet, the Select Board’s position is that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has offered inadequate mitigation for the harm it will cause our community: $150,000 to implement historic property surveys and archaeological assessments, neither of which has been requested by the Town. BOEM’s offer is not acceptable. In addition to requesting no additional visible turbines on our horizon, we intend to provide BOEM with a list of projects that would make a meaningful difference to Nantucket for the unavoidable visual effects that SouthCoast will cause."

The town is holding a hybrid public forum on the SouthCoast Wind project and BOEM's proposed mitigation on Tuesday, Nov. 19th at 5 p.m. in the community room of the public safety facility at 4 Fairgrounds Road. The goal is to solicit feedback from the community on the project, along the type and scope of mitigation the town should be seeking.

In an Oct. 30th letter to BOEM written by the town of Nantucket's special legal counsel for offshore wind, Cultural Heritage Partners, attorney Will Cook objected to the proposed mitigation as well as the lack of an adequate emergency response plan for the possibility of blade failures at SouthCoast Wind.

"BOEM’s 'Draft Historic Properties Treatment Plan for Nantucket Historic District' is an absurd proposal," Cook wrote. "Mitigation must offset adverse effects to be meaningful and BOEM’s proposal falls far short of offsetting unavoidable adverse effects. As we have already explained, historic property and archaeological 'surveys' have not been requested, and fail to offset the adverse effects to
historic properties that SouthCoast will cause. Furthermore, we point out the futility of BOEM meeting with consulting parties at this time—including the Town—about proposed mitigation when information about impacts on the Nantucket Historic District from the Vineyard Wind 1 turbine failure, including its beaches, which are part of the National Historic Landmark designation, are not yet known because the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has not completed its investigation of the failure and its consequences."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently completed its final biological opinion on SouthCoast Wind, evaluating the project against the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.

"NOAA Fisheries concluded the proposed action is likely to adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of any species of ESA-listed whales, sea turtles, or fish," the federal agency wrote. "It is not anticipated to adversely affect any designated critical habitat. NOAA Fisheries does not anticipate serious injuries to or mortalities of any ESA-listed whale, including the North Atlantic right whale. The proposed project includes a number of measures designed to minimize, monitor, and report effects to ESA-listed species...With the incorporation of the proposed mitigation measures, all effects to North Atlantic right whales will be limited to behavioral disturbance that constitutes “harassment” under the ESA, but not “harm.”

While some groups, including the Nantucket-based ACK For Whales, believe the ongoing development of offshore wind energy facilities along the East Coast is a significant cause of whale mortality, NOAA has stated, "At this point, there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause whale deaths. There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities."