June 15, 2020 — The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released its long-anticipated update to its environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Vineyard Wind offshore windfarm, including an analysis of the cumulative effects of offshore wind development off the U.S. East Coast.
BOEM predicts that developers will eventually install up to 2,000 wind turbines producing up to 22 gigawatts of power off the Eastern seaboard. The first significant project in the permitting pipeline is Vineyard Wind, an 800 MW, 57-turbine development off the coast of Rhode Island.
The 420-page supplemental EIS acknowledged that under all scenarios, Vineyard Wind will have a moderate impact on commercial fishing, and concluded that the cumulative effect of multiple windfarms will have a “major” adverse impact on East Coast fisheries. In all but one scenario, the cumulative effect on navigation would be a “major” adverse impact. (“Major” indicates that the affected community would have to adjust to significant disruptions and may see measurable effects indefinitely.)
In a statement, BOEM said that it “recognizes that fishing is an important use of federal waters that will be considered in its decision-making.” The agency said that it will work with commercial and recreational fishermen and will solicit input from the fishing community.