The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed SouthCoast Wind Project. This project, if approved, could generate up to 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy, sufficient to power over 800,000 homes in the region.
The project, proposed by SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC, includes the installation of up to 147 wind turbines and five offshore substations, with up to eight export cables potentially connecting to onshore points at Brayton Point or Falmouth, Massachusetts. The project would occupy a 127,388-acre lease area approximately 26 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard and 20 nautical miles south of Nantucket.
BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein highlighted the involvement of tribal nations, federal and state agencies, local communities, and ocean users in shaping the environmental review, stating that this milestone supports the administration's clean energy commitments.
During a 60-day public comment period earlier this year, BOEM held three public meetings and received 182 comments, which informed the final EIS. The Department of the Interior, under the Biden-Harris administration, has already approved more than 15 GW of offshore wind capacity, aimed at achieving the national target of deploying 30 GW by 2030.
