U.S. Will Have to Wait Longer For First Commercial Offshore Wind Farm

The United States will have to wait even longer for another offshore wind farm to join Block Island, the nation's first and - still - only offshore wind farm.

Final environmental assesments which had been scheduled for last year and were already postponed will take up more time. The Department of Interior has now granted time until the end of this year to finish the work.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) issued the following statement today in reaction to the Department of Interior’s announcement on the schedule for reviewing Vineyard Wind’s Final Environmental Impact Statement: “The Department of Interior’s schedule for Vineyard Wind’s Final Environmental Impact Statement provides important clarity for the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry,” said Laura Morton, AWEA’s Senior Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Offshore. “Moving forward, it’s critical Interior meet or accelerate the announced schedule, expedite the review for other offshore wind projects under development, and move forward with auctions for new wind energy lease areas, which will create thousands of new jobs and economic opportunities nationwide.”

“We have received updated information from the Department of Interior that indicates the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Vineyard Wind I project will be published later than what was previously anticipated,” said Lars Pedersen, CEO of the project developer Vineyard Wind. “While we need to analyze what a longer permitting timeline will mean for beginning construction, commercial operation in 2022 is no longer expected. We look forward to the clarity that will come with a final EIS so that Vineyard Wind can deliver this project to Massachusetts and kick off the new US offshore energy industry.”