Offshore wind projects eyed for Barnstable landings pass key federal milestone

New England Wind, which has two projects proposed to land on Barnstable beaches, has passed a key federal permitting milestone that brings them another step closer to reality.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and various associated agencies recently issued a record of decision describing their review of Avangrid's construction and operations plan for New England Wind, which is a conglomeration of the recently renamed New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 — formerly Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind.

"What the record of decision is really saying is all the federal agencies that have to look at the construction and operation plan have looked at it and are on board," said Avangrid Vice President of Development for Offshore Wind Ken Kimmell. "What happens next is they are going to put together the construction and operations plan that will have all the conditions listed."

He acknowledged documents showing there are still four of nine permits still in progress as of the end of March.

"There are a couple of permits pending, including the construction and operations plan approval and some EPA permits, but all are expected to be issued this summer," he said. "The record of decision is a blueprint for those approvals."

New England Wind 1 — formerly Park City Wind — is proposed to land at Craigville Beach in Centerville, while New England Wind 2 — formerly Commonwealth Wind — is proposed to land at Dowses Beach in Osterville. Combined, they'd deliver a little more than 1,800 megawatts to the ISO New England grid: 791 megawatts from New England Wind 1 and about 1,079 from New England Wind 2.

The power output is slightly downgraded from previous plans that proposed a total of 2,004 megawatts, with 804 megawatts from the previous Park City Wind plan, and 1,200 from the previous Commonwealth Wind plan. It's estimated to power nearly 1 million homes and businesses in the region.

According to Avangrid, the record of decision represents "a significant permitting milestone" that brings the lease area south of Martha's Vineyard closer to full federal approval for construction. The company expects a formal decision on its construction and operations plan in July.

"With this federal approval, New England Wind stands apart as the most advanced and shovel-ready offshore wind opportunity in the Northeast region," said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra in a statement. "We are grateful to our many supporters and stakeholders that participated in the federal permitting process, and look forward to continued engagement as we work to bring thousands of well-paying jobs and clean, reliable power to New England.”

On March 27, Avangrid submitted proposals for its New England Wind projects through the new Massachusetts-Connecticut-Rhode Island multi-state solicitation for offshore wind power, both to the states as a group as well as individually to each state.

The company is promoting its New England Wind 1 project as the one closest to putting shovels in the ground. For that reason, one of the company's proposals submitted for a power purchase agreement is for New England Wind 1 only, allowing the states to choose it individually because of its immediacy.

The project has nearly all local, state and federal permits in hand, a signed host community agreement with the town of Barnstable, all interconnection rights secured, and a project labor agreement with the Massachusetts Building Trades Unions, according to Azagra. There is, however, a legal issue related to the project in the works — at its April 4 meeting, the Barnstable Town Council went into executive session to discuss litigation strategy with regard to the Park City Wind project; no details are public as of yet.

Avangrid's second proposal submitted to the states combines New England Wind 1 with New England Wind 2. This plan is offered as a combined project "to capture important economics of scale and support significant grid upgrades," according to Avangrid.

The record of decision indicates that New England Wind would be permitted for 125 to 129 offshore turbines and five offshore electrical service platforms.

If selected in the current competitive procurement, New England 1 could start construction as soon as next year and achieve commercial operations before the end of the decade. Kimmell said if the New England Wind 1-only bid is selected, the company would expect to re-bid for the second project during a later wind power solicitation.

The states are expected to announce selected projects on Aug. 9.

Congressman Bill Keating, D-Massachusetts, welcomed news of the record of decision for New England Wind.

"I have long believed that offshore wind will play a critical role in powering a greener and more climate friendly future for our region and the entire country," he said in a statement, noting that with issuance of this record of decision "we see that vision coming closer to fruition.”

Locally, the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative was among various environmental and conservation groups also applauding the decision.

“It is now well documented that Cape Cod and its adjacent ocean waters are among the very fastest warming locations in the world, adding further urgency for Cape Cod’s transition to a sustainable energy future which, in turn, depends on having access to ample supplies of renewable energy," said Dorothy Savarese, board chair of the collaborative, in a statement. "Offshore wind is an absolutely essential component of that vision.”

Not everyone is cheering, though. Barnstable Speaks, a grassroots citizens' group that's raised questions and concerns about some of the details of Avangrid's proposals, in an email expressed the membership's disappointment in issuance of the record of decision at this time, noting "we want to point out that these projects still need numerous additional federal permits."

"Additionally, keep in mind that Avangrid cancelled its original contracts to sell the power they propose to generate from these projects and may not even be awarded new contracts at the end of the Commonwealth's current clean energy solicitation process," wrote member Bob Schulte, on behalf of the group.

"We feel that the protection and safety of our public beaches, drinking water supplies, historic Main Street Centerville and surrounding Barnstable neighborhoods, and the health of our community are imperative, and we will continue to fight for these goals."

Heather McCarron can be reached at [email protected], or follow her on X @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Offshore wind proposals eyed for Barnstable landings get federal boost