The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced it will initiate the environmental review of a proposed 2,430MW wind energy project offshore Massachusetts.
BOEM will publish a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Beacon Wind, LLC (Beacon Wind). The lease area is approximately 17 nautical miles (nm) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and approximately 52 nm east of Montauk, New York. If approved, the development and construction phases of the Beacon Wind project could support up to an estimated 6,491 jobs.
Highlights from Beacon Wind’s proposal include the following:
- Construction and operation of two wind energy facilities (Beacon Wind 1 and Beacon Wind 2) offshore Massachusetts with a total capacity of at least 2,430 megawatts of clean, renewable wind energy, which could power over 850,000 homes each year.
- Installation of up to 155 turbines, up to two offshore substation platforms, and up to two offshore export cables, which are planned to make landfall in Astoria, New York, and Waterford, Connecticut.
