July 22, 2024 — Outer Cape residents filled a hotel ballroom to capacity in Eastham Wednesday for a meeting on offshore wind development areas off Cape Cod’s eastern shore.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hosted the information session in response to complaints that the agency has not done enough on the Outer Cape to communicate its plans. The agency has proposed eight areas for lease to developers, totaling nearly 1 million acres.
Among the concerned residents to speak were fishers, a charter boat owner, and Select Board members from at least five towns. Recurring themes included protecting Stellwagen Bank, the location of cable landings, and the role of offshore wind in reducing climate change.
Federal plans show offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Maine starting about 25 miles off Cape Cod.
Luke Feinberg, a project coordinator with BOEM, told the audience the agency does not anticipate that electrical cables would make landfall on the Outer Cape because the area does not have the infrastructure or electrical demand to support it. The closest grid connections BOEM has analyzed are in Sandwich and Plymouth.
“Just want to be very clear, that as we predict today, cables would not be landing in the Outer Cape area or going through the Outer Cape area,” he said.