Offshore wind has arrived in the United States. The first of many turbines sailed into New Bedford, Mass., this week, carried by a 490-foot-long vessel called the Felicity. The long-awaited arrival from Europe kicks off construction of Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project, writes Benjamin Storrow. Vineyard Wind, slated for completion next year 15 miles off Martha’s Vineyard, is a major coup for President Joe Biden’s goal of greening the electric grid. The project is expected to produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes, reducing planet-warming emissions by 1.6 million tons annually. That’s the equivalent of taking more than 300,000 cars off the road every year. The arrival of the 200-foot-long turbines Wednesday was years in the making. A small group of activists, local officials and wind developers has worked for decades to make offshore wind a reality in the U.S., overcoming years of false starts, legal battles and lengthy federal reviews. The first proposed offshore wind project in the U.S., Cape Wind, eventually met its end in 2017. Years of beating back lawsuits created an interminable delay that ultimately killed the venture. At first, Vineyard Wind appeared poised to avoid many of the problems that plagued Cape Wind. New federal regulations offered a clear approval process, and the project is far enough away from shore that few people would see it. But problems arose in 2019 under the Trump administration, and Vineyard Wind eventually withdrew its application for approval. The company refiled under the Biden administration and was quickly approved. Challenges remain, however. The project continues to face opposition from the fishing industry, which has joined other opponents in filing four lawsuits challenging federal permits. One suit was dismissed earlier this month. And while Vineyard Wind is moving forward, future projects planned off New York and New Jersey face increasingly strident criticism from coastal communities.
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