Vineyard Wind, the developer of the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, said on Monday it has asked the Biden administration to restart its permitting process after former President Donald Trump’s government abruptly canceled it last month.
The company said in a statement it had notified the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that the project would not need to change its construction plan as a result of switching to a new turbine supplier, General Electric Co.
Last month, Vineyard Wind had requested a pause in the federal permitting process while it determined whether changes to its design were necessary, prompting the BOEM to terminate its entire review.
U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to boost development of renewable energy as part of a sweeping plan to fight climate change and create jobs. Trump had also promised to support the nascent U.S. industry as part of his energy dominance agenda, but the permitting of Vineyard Wind was delayed repeatedly in part due to concerns its turbines would interfere with commercial fishing.
A BOEM official would not comment on Vineyard Wind’s request.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between power company Avangrid Inc, a unit of Spain’s Iberdrola, and Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The project is located 15 miles (24.1 km) off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Once constructed, it is expected to provide power to more than 400,000 Massachusetts homes.
(Reuters, January 25, 2021)
