Wind Power News: Massachusetts
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch 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.
Mayflower Wind, without contract, moving ahead
Mayflower Wind still doesn’t have a final contract for its offshore wind farm off the coast of Nantucket, but it appears to be moving ahead with the project anyway in a bid to tap federal investment tax credits. A press release issued by a joint venture of two Danish companies on Wednesday indicated Mayflower has hired them to build a 1,200 megawatt offshore substation. “The offshore substation project will be initiated in January 2020,” says the press release put out . . . Complete story »
Lowest cost wind price remains under wraps
Massachusetts electric ratepayers will have to wait a little longer before finding out just how low the promised “lowest cost offshore wind energy ever in the US” will cost them. The long-term contracts between state utilities and Mayflower Wind, the joint venture of Shell and EDPR Offshore North America that has been picked to build and operate a wind farm approximately 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 nautical miles south of Nantucket, were not filed with the . . . Complete story »
Fishermen, wind farm developers at odds
A group representing New England fishing interests on Tuesday called for special travel lanes through offshore wind farms proposed off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, putting the fishermen at odds with wind farm developers who want to retain as much space as possible for their turbines. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance called for the creation of six travel lanes, each one four nautical miles in width, through the entire lease area off the coast of the two states. . . . Complete story »
Fishermen at odds with developers over wind farm layouts
Commercial fishing interests have put forward a proposal for how wind turbines should be laid out across the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, asking federal rulemakers to consider establishing miles-wide, designated transit lanes that offshore wind energy developers have resisted. In a letter sent to the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last week, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance asked that the agencies consider giving fishing vessels and other mariners six lanes, each four nautical . . . Complete story »
Fishermen call for 4-nautical-mile lanes between offshore wind turbines
Northeastern commercial fishermen and seafood businesses are calling for transit lanes four nautical miles wide between rows of offshore wind turbines. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a fishing lobby group whose members hail mainly from New England and New Jersey, wrote a letter to the U.S Coast Guard and other federal authorities to make its case for wider lanes, saying they would: – Allow enough room for a vessel to make a significant alteration of course if needed; – Provide . . . Complete story »
State ‘net energy’ proposal raises static among developers
A proposal that would require new commercial construction projects in Massachusetts to use only renewable energy has opponents and proponents drawing a line in the sand. Supporters say the “zero net energy” proposal is needed to address global warming more quickly. Opponents argue that there is not sufficient technology and capacity to increase electrification to meet the demand. Opponents also say the proposal would greatly diminish housing development during the state’s housing crisis and that electricity bills for tenants would . . . Complete story »
Brayton Point emissions offsets available to wind projects
State regulators are making emissions offsets stemming from the shutdown of Brayton Point Power Station available for use in the federal air quality permits issued for offshore wind energy projects. The Department of Environmental Protection said it would make the nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound offsets available for use in Outer Continental Shelf permits issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for offshore projects for which Massachusetts is designated the “corresponding onshore area.” Vineyard Wind, which is behind a . . . Complete story »
Berkshire Wind helps light North Shore homes
PEABODY – The fact that two new wind turbines atop Brodie Mountain in the Berkshires have recently reached commercial operation is a milestone that will provide a source of clean and predictable power for nearly 3,000 homes on the North Shore. While the Berkshire Wind Power Project – the state’s second largest wind farm – may be 170 miles away, its expansion is important for customers served by municipal light plants in Peabody, Marblehead and Ipswich. The power generated by the Western Massachusetts . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind task force meets today at UNH
New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts are set to begin planning how they might develop offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine. The first meeting of the tri-state task force takes place all day today at the University of New Hampshire and is open to the public. The group is led by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, where Jim Bennett is head of renewable energy. He tells NHPR that offshore wind could transform the region’s grid. “A wind . . . Complete story »
Our power, their pain: What do ‘renewable’ and ‘green’ mean?
Terms like “renewable energy” and “clean energy” mean different things in different places at different times, and Canadian hydropower is in a grey zone that sometimes counts and sometimes doesn’t. Even at the federal level, Canada and the United States use the terms differently. Natural Resources Canada, a Canadian federal agency, uses something like a dictionary definition of renewable energy: “Energy derived from natural processes that are replenished at a rate that is equal to or faster than the rate . . . Complete story »
