Two offshore wind projects off Martha's Vineyard win federal approval for construction

Two offshore wind farms immediately southwest of Vineyard Wind have received federal approval to begin construction.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has approved a construction and operations plan for New England Wind 1 and 2, formerly called Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind.

The projects won their main federal approval back in April — a Record of Decision documenting assessments by multiple agencies. But to build, they still needed the bureau's final approval announced Monday.

Together, New England Wind 1 and 2 will have up to 129 turbines and the capacity to generate enough power for more than 900,000 homes.

They don’t have contracts with major statewide utilities; those could come as part of a multi-state bid process now underway. Both projects are part of a cooperative solicitation between Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Winners are due to be announced Aug. 7.

Owner Avangrid says New England Wind 1 is the only project in the bidding that has all of its federal, state, and local permits.

It also has agreements to provide power to the city of Boston and 20 municipal electric companies.

The nearest turbines to Martha's Vineyard for New England Wind will be about 23 miles south of the island.

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by CAI.