What’s New?
Vineyard Northeast - Record of Decision (ROD)
On April 2, 2024, the Department of the Interior announced the approval of the New England Wind offshore wind project. The New England Wind project is expected to generate up to 2,600 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power more than 900,000 homes with clean renewable energy. The lease area is located about 20 nautical miles (nm) south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and about 24 nm southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Record of Decision (ROD) documents the decision to approve the construction of up to 129 wind turbines within the lease area. The following documents are available for your viewing.
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS (Docket No. BOEM 2024-0009)
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS; Corrections
- New England Wind Notice of Availability
Sunrise Wind
On March 26, 2024, the Department of the Interior announced the approval of the Sunrise Wind offshore wind project. The Sunrise Wind project will have a total capacity of 924-megawatt (MW) of clean, renewable energy that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimates could power more than 320,000 homes per year. The lease area is located approximately 16.4 nautical miles (nm) south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., approximately 26.5 nm east of Montauk, N.Y., and approximately 14.5 nm from Block Island, R.I. The Record of Decision (ROD) documents the decision to approve the construction of up to 84 wind turbines within the lease area.
- Sunrise Wind ROD
- Federal Register - Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the Proposed Sunrise Wind Farm Offshore New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
Vineyard Northeast
On Mar. 22, 2024, BOEM announced that on March 25, 2024, it would publish a “Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Vineyard Northeast Project on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Massachusetts.” The March 25, 2024, publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) opened a 45-day public comment period for the Vineyard Northeast Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ending at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 9, 2024. The public scoping process is to identify issues and potential alternatives for consideration in the EIS. During the comment period, BOEM will hold two virtual and two in-person public scoping meetings. More information is available on the Vineyard Northeast project page.
The following documents are available for your viewing.
- Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS (Docket No. BOEM 2024-0009)
- Vineyard Northeast Construction and Operations Plan (COP) and Appendices
During the open public comment period, BOEM will hold two virtual and two in-person public meetings. More information can be found on the Vineyard Northeast page.
New England Wind
On Feb. 26, 2024, BOEM announced the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed New England Wind project, located about 20 nautical miles (nm) from the southwest corner of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and about 24 nm from Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The following documents are available for your viewing.
- New England Wind FEIS Notice of Availability (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0011)
- New England Wind FEIS
- New England Wind Construction and Operations Plan and Appendices
See more on the New England Wind project page.
Beacon Wind
On Feb. 1, 2024, BOEM announced the publication of the Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind, LLC’s Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0520 in the Federal Register on Feb. 2, 2024. The publication opens a 30-day public comment period for the Draft EA which closes on Mar. 4, 2024.
- Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind, LLC’s Renewable Energy Lease (Feb. 2, 2024)
- Draft Environmental Assessment for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind, LLC’s Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0520 (Feb. 2, 2024)
See more on Beacon Wind project page.
Efforts Underway
There are several renewable energy efforts underway offshore Massachusetts.
- Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Energy Planning
- Commercial Wind Leases Offshore Massachusetts
- Beacon Wind LLC (OCS-A 0520)
- Bay State Wind (OCS-A 0500)
- Vineyard Wind (OCS-A 0501)
- SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC (OCS-A-0521)
- New England Wind (OCS-A 0534)(formerly Vineyard Wind South)
- Commercial Wind Leases Offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts
- South Fork (OCS-A 0517)
- Revolution Wind (OCS-A 0486)
- Sunrise Wind (OCS-A 0487)
- Cape Wind Project (Relinquished)
- Commercial Leases OCS-A 0520, 0521, and 0522
Public Engagement
BOEM coordinates Outer Continental Shelf renewable energy activities offshore Massachusetts with its federal, state, local, and tribal government partners through its Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force. BOEM also coordinates public information meetings to help keep interested stakeholders updated on major renewable energy milestones. To obtain information discussed during these meetings click on the links below.
Related Press Releases
- Biden-Harris Administration Approves Eighth Offshore Wind Project (04/02/2024)
- Biden-Harris Administration Approves Seventh Offshore Wind Project (03/26/2024)
- BOEM Completes Environmental Analysis for Proposed Wind Project Offshore Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York (02/26/2024)
- BOEM Seeks Input on Draft Environmental Analysis for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts (02/01/2024)
- BOEM Seeks Input to Inform Environmental Analysis for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts (11/06/2023)
- BOEM Releases Draft Wind Energy Area in the Gulf of Maine for Public Review and Comment (10/19/2023)
- BOEM Seeks Comment on Draft Environmental Analysis for Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts (02/13/2023)
- BOEM Seeks Comment to Inform Environmental Review of Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Massachusetts (12/19/2022)
- BOEM Advances Review for Two Proposed Wind Projects Off Atlantic Coast (12/12/2022)
- BOEM Seeks Public Comment on Draft Environmental Analysis for Proposed Wind Energy Project Offshore Rhode Island (8/29/2022)
- Biden-Harris Administration Continues Offshore Wind Momentum, Announces Next Steps for Gulf of Maine (8/18/2022)
- Interior Department Approves Second Major Offshore Wind Project in U.S. Federal Waters (11/24/2021)
- Interior Department Takes Action to Advance Offshore Wind in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (10/28/2021)
- BOEM Announces Environmental Review of Wind Energy Project Proposed for Offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts (06/28/2021)
- Biden-Harris Administration Approves First Major Offshore Wind Project in U.S. Waters (05/11/2021)
- BOEM Announces Environmental Review of Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts (04/29/2021)
- BIDDING BONANZA! Trump Administration Smashes Record for Offshore Wind Auction with $405 Million in Winning Bids (12/14/2018)
- BOEM Announces Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Massachusetts (11/30/2018)
- Trump Administration Delivers Historic Progress on Offshore Wind (10/18/2018)
- Trump Administration Proposes Sale for Wind Energy Off Massachusetts Coast (04/06/2018)
- BOEM and MassCEC Release Marine Wildlife Survey Results to Guide Offshore Wind Development (10/25/2016)
- Interior Department Leases Area Offshore Massachusetts for Wind Energy Development(1/29/2015)
- Interior to Auction More Than 742,000 Acres Offshore Massachusetts for Wind Energy Development (11/24/2014)
- Secretary Jewell, Governor Patrick Announced the Nation's Largest Offshore Wind Energy Area Available for Commercial Development (6/17/2014)
- Interior Holds First-Ever Competitive Lease Sale for Renewable Energy in Federal Waters(7/31/2013)
- BOEM Identifies Wind Energy Area Offshore Massachusetts for Potential Commercial Leasing (5/30/2012)
- Obama Administration Initiates Leasing Process for Commercial Wind Development Offshore Massachusetts (2/3/2012)
- BOEMRE Initiates Leasing Process for Commercial Wind Development Offshore Massachusetts (12/28/2010)
- Salazar Launches 'Smart from the Start' Initiative to Speed Offshore Wind Energy Development off the Atlantic Coast (11/23/2010)
Environmental Studies
BOEM has funded or considered numerous studies to collect information about the marine environment to support decisions concerning offshore renewable energy development. For more information, please visit: http://www.boem.gov/Massachusetts-Environmental-Studies.
Visual Simulations
In response to stakeholder interest regarding visual impacts from potential future renewable energy development within the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Wind Energy Areas, BOEM undertook a project to develop daytime and nighttime photomontages and 24 hour day-through-night videos to simulate what turbines might look like if these six lease areas were fully developed.