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Wind Power News: Massachusetts
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
US groups in legal bid to revoke New England 1 & 2 offshore wind permits
US environmental and fishing groups have filed a suit in federal court claiming the Departments of Interior and Commerce and sub-agencies violated the law when they approved the Record of Decision (RoD) for Avangrid’s almost 1800MW New England 1&2 offshore wind projects. Nantucket-based environmental grassroots group ACK For Whales, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah, Green Oceans, a coalition of charter fishing groups and seven individuals have the filed suit. The suit, filed in Washington, DC federal court on May . . . Complete story »
Questions of transparency swirl around Vineyard Wind
The company only has four turbines generating power after nearly three years of construction. Just a fraction of Vineyard Wind’s planned offshore wind turbines are in operation despite nearly three years of construction, and the company is staying silent on what is slowing production down and when it’ll actually finish the project. First reported by the State House News Service, Vineyard Wind 1 – an offshore wind farm 15 miles south of the Island – only has four turbines providing power to . . . Complete story »


States sue Trump administration over federal roadblocks on wind energy, citing economic harm and climate goals
A coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the development of wind energy. Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical . . . Complete story »
The toxic fallout from wind turbine blades ‘should not be underestimated’
Recent research reveals that as blade coatings degrade, they leach thousands of tons of noxious metals into the water – and your seafood. When one of the massive turbine blades at Vineyard Wind fell apart last July, an intense although short-lived focus on the numerous chemical components that comprise the gigantic 351-foot-long blade revealed a wide variety of “complex industrial materials.” As requested by the island town of Nantucket, Mass., which saw the first wash-up of blade debris, the manufacturer, GE . . . Complete story »
Federal judge allows Green Oceans’ suit opposing Revolution Wind offshore wind project to advance
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth has authorized the lawsuit seeking to stop the construction of giant, environmentally destructive wind turbines off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts to move forward, the non-partisan, independent grassroots group Green Oceans said today. Revolution Wind, the project’s owner and an intervenor/defendant in the case, attempted to have the Court dismiss the suit, arguing the citizen plaintiffs didn’t have standing, or the right to challenge the project. The Court rejected the Company’s efforts . . . Complete story »
Nantucket sues to block massive wind farm project, citing environmental and economic risks
Nantucket is not going down without a fight. The historic island—one of America’s largest National Historic Landmarks—is taking the feds to court over a massive offshore wind farm that threatens its stunning seascapes and the tourism industry that keeps it alive. Town officials on Wednesday filed an appeal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for greenlighting the SouthCoast Wind project despite admitting it would tarnish Nantucket’s world-renowned views. . . . Complete story »
Nantucket opposition group challenges 2 wind farms off Cape islands
ACK For Whales has launched a new challenge against two wind farms proposed in open ocean 24 miles southwest of Nantucket. The island-based offshore wind-energy opposition group is petitioning the federal Environmental Protection Agency to review Clean Air Act permits issued for New England Wind 1 and 2, the same permits that on Friday, March 21 were pulled from a planned offshore wind farm in New Jersey, leaving its future unclear. ACK For Whales claims the original permits were issued . . . Complete story »
A submerged concern: offshore wind cables
As offshore wind turbines undergo construction in waters south of the Vineyard, and with some already standing and delivering power, the debates on the Island regarding the industry continue. And amid the conversations over a necessity for clean energy, and whether the projects are a blow to the Vineyard’s natural charm – coupled with a mix of online misinformation campaigns against the offshore wind industry – one subject has remained submerged: undersea cables. While cables – which connect wind farms to the New . . . Complete story »
Commercial fishing coalition brings fight against Vineyard Wind to US Supreme Court
A broad coalition of commercial fishing industry interests has appealed to the US Supreme Court to challenge authorization of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari explaining that the US Interior Department reinterpreted statutory language of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to approve Vineyard Wind 1. Section 1337(p)(4) of OCSLA requires that the Secretary of the Interior “shall ensure” that any approved activities – . . . Complete story »
Broken Vineyard wind turbine struck by lightning
The same Vineyard Wind turbine blade that snapped in half last summer now appears to have been struck by lightning, according to the company and the U.S. Coast Guard. On Sunday, officials confirmed that the turbine at the southernmost end of the Vineyard Wind lease off Martha’s Vineyard was apparently hit by lightning late last week, damaging the already broken blade. The Coast Guard reported a strike occurred on Feb. 27, and it was working with Vineyard Wind to ensure . . . Complete story »