Public Comment Letter to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in Support of Vineyard Wind 1
July 9, 2020
Vineyard Wind 1 COP Supplement to the Draft EIS
Program Manager
Office of Renewable Energy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP
Sterling, Virginia 20166.
Dear Program Manager,
On behalf of New England chambers of commerce, businesses, and ratepayers, we support the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind development and urge you to grant its final permits to begin construction. After the release of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, more than ten years of exhaustive study and analysis, and extensive public consultation to determine where offshore wind could be built with the least possible impact on existing industries and the environment, it is our belief that the project should be approved to move forward without further delay.
Offshore wind has a unique opportunity at this moment in time to benefit the US economy and environment. The pipeline of offshore wind projects is estimated to deliver approximately $100 billion in economic investment, more than 80,000 jobs, and provide enough electricity to power millions of homes.
New England stands at the forefront of this new American energy industry with multiple large projects in development that will deliver thousands of megawatts of clean energy to the grid. These projects will deliver competitively priced energy to the Massachusetts and Connecticut ratepayers and also bring thousands of high-paying jobs, considerable economic investment, and demand for a deep, regional supply chain.
It is also critical that BOEM approve the developer agreement for a 1x1 nautical mile layout throughout lease areas without the proposed Alternative F transit lanes. Developers have already conceded about 30% or 13,000 MW of clean energy capacity by accommodating fishing industry demands for a uniform layout, and further reduction through requiring transit lanes would translate to less clean energy for our region, fewer jobs created and significantly less economic benefits to our coastal communities. We encourage BOEM to move forward in accepting the compromise of the 1x1 layout without transit lanes as the best path toward encouraging coexistence of these two important industries.
Vineyard Wind 1 represents the first major offshore wind development in the United States and following final permit approval will provide the needed certainty for future developments and capital investment along the East Coast. Along with the 3,600 jobs anticipated for the project, Vineyard Wind will also provide New England the opportunity to develop the deep supply chain needed to service the full offshore wind industry along the Eastern seaboard. It also likely serves as our region’s strongest opportunity for large scale new energy to meet our growing population and demand for energy. However, in order to capture the maximum benefits of the supply chain opportunity, it is imperative that BOEM send the right signals to the market that the US is serious about moving forward with offshore wind and project permitting will be conducted fairly and within a reasonable timeframe. Without this certainty and predictability, it will be difficult to encourage the business community to invest in offshore wind to its full potential.
Further delay or additional restrictions will not only harm this project but also impede the forecasted growth of the other proposed project to come and increase energy costs for ratepayers.
Furthermore, at a time when our economy has felt the impact of COVID-19 and the steep job losses associated with it, Vineyard Wind will put people back to work, something that cannot be overlooked and should be embraced to ensure an even more robust economic recovery.
We ask that you approve Vineyard Wind 1 so that our region and country can realize the economic benefits of this project and to deliver clean, competitively priced energy to our ratepayers.
Sincerely,
Wendy Northcross
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Ryan Evans
Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy
