Department of the Interior approves two wind farms off Massachusetts’ coast

The Biden Administration, Tuesday, approved two large offshore wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts. Both projects– New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2– will be built approximately 20 miles off Martha’s Vineyard, just south of the first U.S. commercial-scale offshore wind farm, Vineyard Wind, which brought 100% clean power to the grid in January of this year. 

Together, the two projects could generate up to 2,600 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 900,000 homes with clean renewable energy. The approval of these projects brings President Biden halfway to his goal of approving 16 offshore wind projects by 2025– the equivalent of nearly 30 gigawatts of clean energy capacity.

“This is a huge step towards phasing out harmful fossil fuels in New England,” said Johanna Neumann, senior director of Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy. “Bay Staters know– we can tap the abundant and renewable winds blowing off our coasts to move towards a Commonwealth powered with 100% clean energy.”

The approval comes just after another major environmental milestone: in March, Granite Shore Power announced plans to cease operations at Merrimack Station, the last operating coal-fired power plant in New England, by 2028.