SouthCoast Wind 1

Virtual Open House on SouthCoast Economic Development Investments

At the end of January, SouthCoast Wind held a Virtual Open House about the economic development investments for SouthCoast communities that were the basis of the 2021 Massachusetts offshore wind energy procurement. SouthCoast Wind’s award was accompanied by a commitment to invest up to $42 million towards:

Offshore wind education, training and workforce development
Supply chain opportunities
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives
Applied research and innovation
Fall River operations & maintenance port infrastructure
Low-income ratepayer support

Our new Fall River office sign was installed in March.

Thank you to the 288 participants who attended. The slides and recording of the event are available here on our website.

The SouthCoast page continues to be updated as design and permitting work advances.

Benthic Survey Campaign Underway

Vessels are setting out to conduct benthic surveys within federal and state waters in Mount Hope Bay, Sakonnet River and Rhode Island Sound. Geotechnical surveys will continue in SouthCoast’s offshore lease area through April.

Surveys provide critical data about the seafloor and subsea conditions for evaluation in the project design and permitting process. We post weekly updates to the survey area and vessel operating schedule on SouthCoast Wind’s Mariners page. We encourage boaters to maintain a safe distance of 0.5 nm from the vessels as their maneuverability may be significantly restricted.

Falmouth Connection

Virtual Tour of the Falmouth Project

To kick off the month of March, SouthCoast Wind debuted our new 3D Visualization tool by giving a live virtual tour of our proposed onshore work in Falmouth. With the use of three-dimensional modeling and animated sequences, the tour provided a visual experience of the turbines and layout of the offshore wind lease area, as well as routing, siting, and installation of the onshore electrical infrastructure.

We received great questions both before, during, and after the event, and have added responses on our website on the Falmouth page and under a number of categories on the FAQs page.

Thank you to the 152 participants who attended. The slides and recording of the event are available here on our website.

To take a 3D tour of the Falmouth Project, fill out our contact form.

Rep. Fernandes Advances Community Aggregation for Cape & Islands

SouthCoast Wind was pleased to support Falmouth State Representative Dylan Fernandes in his efforts as part of recent state legislative action to allow municipal aggregators, such as the Cape Light Compact, the ability to enter financeable long-term contracts with offshore wind developers.

Vineyard Power and Green Consumer Alliance have been lead champions of the effort, which now advances to the Massachusetts State Senate for consideration.

March 24 Energy Facilities Siting Board Public Hearing

The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board will conduct a remote public comment hearing regarding the Falmouth Project via Zoom at 7:00 p.m., on Thursday, March 24, 2022. Attendees can join by clicking (or entering) the following link: http://us06web.zoom.us/j/83351866878 from a computer, smartphone, or tablet.

For audio-only participation, attendees can dial in at (646) 558-8658 (not toll free) and then enter the Webinar ID: 833 5186 6878.

At the public comment hearing, SouthCoast Wind will present an overview of the proposed project. Public officials and members of the public will then have an opportunity to ask questions and offer comments. The hearing is led by the Siting Board.

A copy of SouthCoast Wind’s Siting Board filing is available for the public to review on our Documents page under “State Permitting.”

There are several ways to provide comments:

If you anticipate providing comments via Zoom during the public comment hearing, please send an email to geneen.bartley@mass.gov with your name, email address, and mailing address by Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
If you anticipate commenting by telephone, please leave a voicemail message at (617) 305-3529 with your name, telephone number, and mailing address. Additional commenters may be allowed during the public comment hearing, at the discretion of the Presiding Officer.
The Siting Board will also accept written comment on the Project by Thursday, April 7, 2022.

The Falmouth page provides links to the Energy Facility Siting Board docket and review process.

Project News – March