It’s been a fast-paced few months for the SouthCoast Wind team. In addition to our SouthCoast Project 1 being awarded power purchase agreements to deliver 1,287 megawatts of clean power to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, we have also reached important permitting milestones.
SouthCoast Wind has met important permitting milestones as the project continues to move forward toward construction.
Our Massachusetts permits for Project 1 are officially complete!
In October, SouthCoast Wind received approvals for work related to our grid connection at Brayton Point including:
Energy Facilities Siting Board Certificate of Approval
Department of Environmental Protection Chapter 91 Wetlands and Waterways license and permit
Office Coastal Zone Management Federal Consistency Approval
RI state flag
Rhode Island
Permitting in Rhode Island also continues to advance. We continue to advance our permits before:
The Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board Certificate of Approval for our cable crossing in Portsmouth, RI
The Coastal Resource Management Council Category B Assent for cable burial in Rhode Island waters
Partner Highlight
Dolphins observed from vessel Go Liberty
Protected Species Observer Program
In September, SouthCoast Wind and RPS hosted our third annual Protected Species Observer (PSO) Training Program in Fall River, MA. Our PSO program is tailored to offer local Native American community members cost-free training and certifications required to work as a PSO.
Protected Species Observers monitor for the presence of protected species, both visually and with passive acoustic monitoring, and implement mitigation measures where needed to ensure animals are not impacted by marine activities. Once certified, PSOs can be deployed on vessels to support activities in industries ranging from offshore wind to natural gas and oil, as well as academic research.
Our participants successfully completed their classroom courses at our Fall River office then traveled to Houston, TX for safety training. With certifications in hand, this year’s graduates are eligible to start work including on the SouthCoast Wind project when we begin offshore construction.
