August 17, 2023 — Officials with the town of Aquinnah say they have reached an agreement over mitigation funding with the developer of the closest, and likely largest, offshore wind farm planned for nearby waters.
Orsted, the developer of Revolution Wind, is expected to provide the town with over a million dollars to fund the renovation of the Gay Head Lighthouse and other historic structures in the area.
The agreement, while not signed by either side yet, comes after several months of negotiations.
While the town is pleased to have gotten something from the developers, town officials say they didn’t get all they wanted.
“With any agreement, there is some give and take on both sides,” Aquinnah town administrator Jeffrey Madison said Wednesday. “It is what it is. We’re happy that there is some consideration being given to our community.”
Still, funding from Revolution, combined with funding from other offshore wind companies, will help make the Aquinnah Cliffs more accessible. But the majority of funding will also go toward needed repairs to the glass and steel framing of the lighthouse. Madison said that the project would be too big for the town to take on itself.