SouthCoast Wind approvals make Massachusetts/Rhode Island offshore wind energy project closer to reality

Boston and Fall River, MA – SouthCoast Wind has reached several important milestones in the permitting process for its first offshore wind project. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Energy Facilities Siting Board unanimously approved SouthCoast Wind’s request to construct and operate transmission facilities at Brayton Point in Somerset, MA; the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection granted a Ch. 91 Waterways license for project-related nearshore equipment and work; and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management signed off on the project’s Federal Consistency Review.

The approvals keep the SouthCoast Wind 1 project on track to deliver offshore wind energy to the New England regional electric grid by 2030.

“These important permitting milestones bring our project closer to construction. We are grateful to the Commonwealth’s thorough review and look forward to providing clean power, good jobs and economic growth to the region,” said Jennifer Flood, Head of Permitting for SouthCoast Wind and Ocean Winds North America.

SouthCoast Wind’s offshore lease area is in federal waters 23 miles south of Nantucket and the proposed cable route runs through federal and Massachusetts state waters, Rhode Island’s Sakonnet River, across a portion of Portsmouth, RI and into Mt. Hope Bay. The permit also approves a cable route that will go from Mt. Hope Bay, travel up the Lee River and enter Brayton Point in Somerset, MA close to the location of its planned converter station and electric grid connection.

The MA EFSB noted that SouthCoast Wind 1 Project “is superior to the other alternatives evaluated with respect to cost, environmental impact, meeting the identified need, and providing a reliable energy supply for the Commonwealth with minimum impact on the environment at the lowest possible cost.” The EFSB approval includes set construction hours and ongoing monitoring of air and seabed conditions by SouthCoast Wind.

The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management reviewed the SouthCoast Wind Project and determined that the proposed Project is consistent and compliant with the provisions identified as enforceable by the coastal zone management policies of the Commonwealth. As such, MA CZM has issued Federal Consistency Concurrence for the Project, a major milestone which contributes to both the state and federal permitting achievements for SouthCoast Wind. The CZM approval also includes the approval of a fisheries compensation fund that was developed in coordination with the local fishing community.

SouthCoast Wind was awarded power purchase agreements with Massachusetts and Rhode Island to provide a total of 1,287 MW and is currently negotiating contracts with each state’s largest utilities.

The Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board also reopened its review of SouthCoast Wind’s planned electric equipment. Project construction, which is expected in late 2025, will commence once it has received all federal, state and local permits, and pending a final investment decision. 

SouthCoast Wind’s project represents one of the largest ever energy investments in southern New England and will make Brayton Point, a former coal-fired power plant, an energy hub. The project is also expected to create jobs across the region.