September 23, 2023 — After more than two decades of proposing and planning, offshore wind is up and spinning. Fifteen miles off the coast of Matha’s Vineyard, the Vineyard Wind Project is installing 62 massive turbines. They estimate that this $4 billion project will power 400,000 homes and businesses. But some environmentalists believe the project could cause more harm than good.
Offshore wind is making a splash in New England, but it isn’t new to the Bay State. For more than two decades, plans for offshore wind turbines have been under discussion. Nearly 20 years after developers proposed the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound – a project that was eventually scrapped – offshore wind is up and spinning.
Fifteen miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, 62 turbines are being built for the Vineyard Wind project. Nearby, eight other developments have wind energy leases. However, offshore wind projects will soon span beyond Southeastern Massachusetts. In 2022, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management began gaging interest for offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Maine.
“Massachusetts has been called the Saudi Arabia of offshore wind. Within the United States, Massachusetts probably has the best wind energy resource offshore compared to any other state,” Christopher Niezrecki, director, Center for Energy Innovation and WindSTAR Center at UMass Lowell.