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June 29 (UPI) — The U.S. government revealed on Thursday that it has begun an environmental review for a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. This wind farm, proposed by Beacon Wind, has the potential to provide energy to approximately 850,000 homes.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) stated that the review process for the 2.4 gigawatt facility is currently underway.
“BOEM is taking steps to advance the ambitious energy goals set by the administration, while also being careful to minimize and mitigate any negative impacts on ocean users and the marine environment,” commented BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein.
In March, the Energy Department released a plan to achieve President Joe Biden’s objective of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030, an amount sufficient to power 10 million homes.
The plan is expected to attract $12 billion in private investments and support the creation of 77,000 jobs. By 2030, it has the potential to reduce offshore wind costs from $73 per megawatt-hour to $51 per MWh.
Beacon Wind has proposed two sites located 17 miles south of Nantucket. Together, these sites could generate 2.4 GW of energy, meeting the annual energy demands of around 850,000 homes.
The plans involve installing up to 155 wind turbines and the necessary infrastructure to transmit the power to New York and Connecticut. BOEM estimates that the construction phase alone could create nearly 6,500 jobs.
According to consultant group Wood Mackenzie, the global wind energy market is projected to have 1 terawatt (1 million watts) of installed capacity by the end of this year, with a sevenfold expansion expected by 2032.
However, the United States lags significantly behind other nations in terms of offshore wind installations, as there are currently only two commercial wind farms operating in U.S. territorial waters. Nevertheless, the review process for Beacon Wind marks the 11th offshore wind project initiated since President Biden assumed office.
