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Christopher Martin and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg<\/p>\n
The Trump administration cast the fate of the nation\u2019s first major offshore wind farm into doubt by extending an environmental review for the $2.8 billion Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
The Interior Department has ordered an additional study of the farm, proposed by Avangrid Inc. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in an interview with Bloomberg News Friday. The project, which has drawn opposition from fishermen and coastal communities, had been scheduled to be operational by early 2022. The developers have warned that regulatory delays could put it in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
Bernhardt said it\u2019s crucial the impacts be thoroughly studied. \u201cFor offshore wind to thrive on the outer continental shelf, the federal government has to dot their I\u2019s and cross their T\u2019s,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Avangrid sank as much as 0.9% to $50.34. It closed at $50.37 in New York.<\/p>\n
The project south of Martha\u2019s Vineyard is crucial to the future of offshore wind in the U.S. It\u2019s the first of several massive wind farms planned off the East Coast. Massachusetts, New York, Maine and New Jersey are all counting on turbines at sea to achieve aggressive clean energy targets. Their efforts are expected to spur an estimated $70 billion offshore wind industry in the U.S. over the next decade.<\/p>\n
Vineyard Wind spokesman Scott Farmelant called the Interior Department\u2019s decision \u201ca surprise and disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge the federal government to complete the review as quickly as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Last month, Avangrid Chief Executive Officer Jim Torgerson said on a call with analysts that the project \u201cwill be challenged to move forward in its current configuration\u201d if the final study is not issued by early September.<\/p>\n
Vineyard Wind, which would have enough capacity to supply about 400,000 homes, has a contract to sell power to three Massachusetts utilities for $65 per megawatt-hour — a lower-than-expected price that encouraged other states to map out plans for offshore wind. That cost, however, hinged on a lucrative tax credit. The company may not be eligible to claim it if construction is delayed too long.<\/p>\n
Marine Life<\/p>\n
An Interior Department review explored how Vineyard Wind may affect other industries and resources, including marine life. But the National Marine Fisheries Service raised concerns it looked too narrowly at potential cumulative effects on fishing, prompting the supplemental review, Bernhardt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s going to be developed, it needs to be developed in a way that everyone gets to say, at least, that we didn\u2019t shave the ball,\u201d Bernhardt said.<\/p>\n
Massachusetts Representative Joe Kennedy III called the delay a \u201cdouble standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Trump administration has cut every corner and moved through the environmental review period at record speed,\u201d Kennedy, a Democrat, said in an email. \u201cBut when it comes to the nation\u2019s first major offshore wind project — which has gone through years of extensive study, public comment and mitigation plans for impacted communities — they are trying to delay it to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the Interior Department has sold the rights to develop wind farms up and down the U.S. East Coast — and states have committed to buying the renewable power they generate — so far just one has been built: a small, 30-megawatt facility near Block Island, Rhode Island, that went online in 2016.<\/p>\n
Revising Review<\/p>\n
Expectations for offshore wind development are now greater than originally analyzed by the Interior Department, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said by email. The supplemental analysis will revise the agency\u2019s assessment of the cumulative impacts of that development, the bureau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot riding on getting this right,\u201d said Timothy Charters, vice president of government and political affairs for the National Ocean Industries Association. \u201cIt\u2019s critically important that the department produces a decision that can give industry confidence that these projects can be permitted and will be sustained under U.S. courts.\u201d<\/p>\n