The three firms vying to build the first major offshore wind farm in the United States filed their proposals on Wednesday with Massachusetts officials. Each of the firms kept their pricing a secret, so they publicly tried to differentiate their projects based on size, transmission approaches, construction timetables, and partnerships.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

Three offshore wind energy developers bid Wednesday on contracts to sell electricity to Massachusetts power companies, taking the next big step in a process that could set turbines spinning south of Martha’s Vineyard within the next five years.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

One of its biggest problems was its location. Critics insisted that Mr. Gordon was putting his $2.6 billion project in the wrong spot. He wanted to plant 130 turbines in the shallow waters of Nantucket Sound, where they would have been protected by Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

Cape Wind suffered a slow death. Efforts to develop the 468-megawatt offshore farm began in 2001 but came up against relentless opposition ...While Energy Management won several court battles, the project couldn’t survive the 2015 cancellation of contracts to sell its power to local utilities.

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

“Cape Wind has confirmed to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that it has ceased development of its proposed offshore wind farm project in Nantucket Sound and has filed to terminate its offshore wind development lease that was issued in 2010,” according to a statement emailed to the Times by Cape Wind vice president Dennis Duffy.

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

The area along the coast of New England is considered the Saudi Arabia of offshore wind. However, the federal tax subsidy designed to jump-start production of ocean wind energy will soon be drying up.

Taxes & Subsidies Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

NEW BEDFORD — Amid all of the challenges that could face offshore wind power along the East Coast — legal disputes from commercial fishing advocates, construction plans altered by whale migrations, President Donald Trump’s emphasis on revitalizing fossil fuels and more — some promising news for renewable industry supporters arrived in mid-March.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

Big disagreement on whether bigger is better

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

The paper's main finding is that atmospheric conditions around Cape Wind are predominantly turbulent, or unstable ...between 40 and 80 percent of the time. ...When the atmosphere is unstable, it is similar to turbulence experienced by airline passengers during a flight — the wind is choppy and causes high winds from above and slow winds from below to crash into each other and mix together, causing a bumpy and unpredictable ride for the air current.

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

This paper reports on research that looked at wind data collected offshore along the Northeast Unitied States. The paper's main finding is that atmospheric conditions around Cape Wind are predominantly turbulent, or unstable, which is very different from prevailing data from European offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Wind conditions at Cape Wind were shown to be unstable between 40 and 80 percent of the time, depending on season and time of day, The abstract of the paper is provided below. The full paper can be accessed from the links on this page.

Offshore Wind USA Massachusetts

Action on a long-awaited energy bill with broad implications for SouthCoast, where offshore wind power is widely viewed as a key future industry, could occur amid a flurry of 11th-hour lawmaking with about two weeks left for legislators on Beacon Hill.

Offshore Wind Energy Policy Massachusetts

Construction of the first off-shore wind farm in Massachusetts has a hit a snag with the D.C. Circuit chiding regulators about plans to protect shorebirds.

Impact on Birds Offshore Wind Massachusetts

Cape Wind’s long-running quest to establish a wind farm on the Nantucket Sound hit another hitch Tuesday as a three-judge federal Appeals Court panel reversed lower court decisions that had found regulators complied with environmental and endangered species laws in permitting the project.

Legal Offshore Wind Massachusetts

The major question now is whether the state Senate can develop its own version of the bill and whether the two versions can be reconciled by House-Senate negotiators before the legislative session ends at the end of July.

Offshore Wind Zoning/Planning Massachusetts

“In response to retiring power plants, thousands of megawatts of new local plants are under development today to preserve reliability and continue Massachusetts’ leadership in driving lower emissions,” NEPGA President Dan Dolan said in a statement. “Locking consumers into decades-long contracts would also freeze out innovation at a time when tremendous growth and promise is evident from more efficient power generation, lower renewable energy costs and burgeoning distributed electricity supplies.”

Offshore Wind Energy Policy Massachusetts

“Everything I continue to hear on Cape Wind is that they have been taken out of what’s happening right now,” Golden said. “There are a lot of questions coming out of the committee [about whether] that can be competitively bid today.”

Offshore Wind Energy Policy Massachusetts

Canadian hydropower and offshore wind projects would become more prominent pieces of the state's overall energy landscape under a long-awaited bill House lawmakers unveiled Monday. Members of a legislative committee that oversees energy issues were expected to endorse the bill, in a vote taken by email, setting the stage for debate in the full House next month. Renewable energy advocates have said the bill does not go far enough.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

The energy bill may be introduced as early as this month and is expected to require utilities to purchase power from offshore wind farms, according to Rep. Thomas Golden, one of the Democrats who control the state legislature. Still to be determined is how much power utilities would be forced to buy under the bill and, crucially, whether the state’s Republican governor -- who has already opposed one offshore project -- will sign it.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

A state board on Tuesday issued a tentative decision denying the extension of permits that would allow Cape Wind to build an electricity transmission line to connect its proposed offshore wind farm to land, further complicating the beleaguered project's already grim prospects.

Offshore Wind Massachusetts

A Massachusetts state board has issued a draft decision denying the extension of permits that would enable Cape Wind to build an electricity transmission line to connect its proposed offshore wind farm to land. The draft decision offers an informative discussion of the now historical events leading to the denial. The full decision can be accessed by clicking the link on this page. 

Offshore Wind Massachusetts