April 22, 2020 — A wider federal study of the Vineyard Wind project and cumulative impacts of offshore wind development off the East Coast is holding to schedule despite the coronavirus crisis, with a decision expected by December, a top federal official said Tuesday.
With their offices closed, federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management reviewers are working remotely to compile findings toward a final environmental impact statement for the 804-megawatt Vineyard Wind project off southern New England, said James Bennett, chief of BOEM’s renewable energy program.
But public health measures to combat the spread of coronavirus have derailed the agency’s plans for gathering stakeholder comment, including public hearings starting in June, Bennett said during IPF20 Virtual, an online conference hosted this week by the Business Network for Offshore Wind.
“We’re in the process now of planning some kind of virtual event” that would similarly inform the public of what BOEM has been finding, and gather in additional information and comments, Bennett told news reporters during a media availability Tuesday morning.
The public comment process required by the National Environmental Policy Act is another avenue that is bringing formal and written commentary into the review as well, he said.