The U.S. federal government is reconsidering its approval of Iberdrola’s up-to-2.6 gigawatt New England Wind 1 and 2 offshore wind arrays, according to a court filing made this week.
In a document submitted on Wednesday in a separate legal case challenging the project’s approval, the government stated that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is “in the process of reconsidering its approval” of the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP).
The filing also indicated that the administration intends to vacate the approval of the COP by no later than October 10. BOEM had previously granted approval for the development in July 2024.
The move comes shortly after the federal government signalled similar action against another wind energy project, marking the second offshore wind development targeted in recent weeks.
Massachusetts had agreed in September to procure 791 megawatts from the first phase of the New England Wind project. However, the finalisation of contracts for the power purchase has faced repeated delays.
The New England Wind development is led by Avangrid, a U.S. subsidiary of Spain-based Iberdrola. If built as planned, the project would contribute significantly to the Biden administration’s target of deploying 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
