U.S. Interior Department Grants Final Approval for 2.4-Gigawatt SouthCoast Wind Project Off Massachusetts

The U.S. Interior Department on Jan. 17 approved the Construction and Operations Plan for Ocean Wind’s proposed SouthCoast Wind Project, which is designed to generate up to 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power. The project, which marks the 11th commercial-scale offshore wind energy facility in the U.S., has the potential to supply 840,000 residents in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

In March 2024, Ocean Winds acquired full ownership of the SouthCoast Wind project, which was previously a 50/50 joint venture between Ocean Winds and Shell New Energies. The project would be situated almost 30 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and around 20 miles south of Nantucket in Massachusetts. The approved construction plan consists of 141 wind turbine generators, eight offshore export cables from the farm to Brayton Point or Falmouth, and five offshore substations distributed at a maximum of 143 sites.

In November 2024, the department finalized the environmental review for the project to evaluate the potential negative impacts on local wildlife and communities and identify mitigation strategies. The environmental review resulted in changes to the original proposed construction plan, and removed six wind turbine placements in the northeastern part of the site to lower potential impacts on foraging habitat and wildlife displacement.

The department has made significant efforts to expand commercial offshore wind projects in the U.S., to meet the nationwide goal of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035. In December, the department approved the construction plan for the Maryland Offshore Wind project, which could deliver up to 2 GW of offshore wind to more than 700,000 residents.