Federal government delays review of Vineyard Wind project

Vineyard Wind, one of the first large-scale offshore wind projects slated for the coast of Massachusetts, on Tuesday received word from the federal government that an additional review of the project’s impacts won’t be completed until midyear, casting doubt on a plan to complete the project by 2022.

The delay in the review has raised questions about the timeline of more than a dozen proposed projects up and down the East Coast, which will require their own "broader cumulative scenario" to examine offshore wind’s potential impacts on commercial fishing and navigation, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Tuesday. 

In a statement Tuesday, Vineyard Wind president Lars Pedersen, noting the later-than-anticipated review, said “While we need to analyze what a longer permitting timeline will mean for beginning construction, commercial operation in 2022 is no longer expected.”

A new timeline provided to Vineyard Wind shows that completion of the supplemental review of the environmental impact statement for the project won’t be done until June. It had been expected early this year. Even then the review still must undergo a 60-day public comment period and other steps before it's finalized. And it's still uncertain what the Trump administration will find in the review. President Donald Trump has made repeated attacks on offshore wind and wind power in general. 

In a statement responding to Newsday questions Tuesday, BOEM spokeswoman Tracey Moriarty indicated the review and the delay were the result of comments about the Vineyard Wind proposal "requesting a more robust cumulative analysis."

In addition, she said, "Vineyard Wind updated their construction and operations plan to include larger turbine sizes than those originally proposed and analyzed." 

The new timeline released by the federal bureau pushes the anticipated decision for the Vineyard Wind project's permit approval to December 2020 from a previous August 2019.

BOEM has previously said the "expanded cumulative analysis" undertaken by the agency would "serve as a model for future projects." 

In her statement Tuesday, Moriarty said the federal agency "continues to accept and process construction and operations plans as they are submitted" of projects in addition to Vineyard Wind, which she described as "farthest along."

"The environmental reviews of other projects will also include a broader cumulative scenario," she said, but added, "therefore, they will not have to wait on the completion of the Vineyard Wind environmental review. BOEM is actively working with other developers on their project proposals to efficiently process their review and minimize potential delay."

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which is administering the state's offshore wind contracts, on Tuesday said it was "continuing to monitor the situation closely."

Spokeswoman Kate Muller added, "At this time we do not have any reason to believe that this decision will delay development of New York’s awarded offshore wind projects.  We are proceeding on our anticipated timeline for our summer 2020 solicitation."

Last week, nine U.S. lawmakers from Massachusetts asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the Trump administration was favoring fossil fuel projects for review and permitting over comparable renewable energy projects such as offshore wind. They said, "it would be troubling if the Trump administration is employing a double standard for environmental analysis that favors the fossil fuel industry,"

BOEM has previously said it did not have a "formal schedule" for future leasing activities, including in the waters off New York, which it had been expected to identify last year. Now, BOEM said, it "anticipates" additional New York lease areas "over time." 

New York State, which plans to have 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035, has already awarded contracts for up to 1,700 megawatts of offshore wind, and plans to award another 1,000 megawatts this year. The Long Island Power Authority separately has awarded 130 megawatts of offshore wind for the South Fork. 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.