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2024 was going to be the year when the U.S. made a small but significant dent in reaching its goals of bringing offshore wind power to the nation’s electric grid.
Offshore wind did reach major milestones in 2024, with “steel in the water” at four projects. But due to an unexpected failure at sea off the Massachusetts coast, the country remains under one gigawatt of operating offshore wind power — a long way from its 2030 goal.
The expected 800-megawatt contribution from Vineyard Wind 1 didn’t happen, in large part due to a catastrophic blade failure over the summer that made headlines and brought the 62-turbine project and its partial power generation to a halt.
Despite this incident — and the re-election of Donald Trump, a vocal critic of offshore wind — the industry celebrated breakthroughs and earned significant investments this year, both locally and nationally. In Massachusetts, officials remain bullish.
Vineyard Wind turbine blade fails
Months after celebrating first power, Vineyard Wind 1 came to a halt in July when a blade that was undergoing testing snapped offshore, sending foam and debris to coastal towns.
The federal government for months suspended most construction and operations, significantly stalling construction at the site, which was supposed to be completed in 2024. The Light visited Vineyard Wind by boat on Nov. 20 and found that only a third of the planned turbines were completed. Vineyard Wind removed blades from at least two turbines, but was permitted to install one set of blades in December.
The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), continues to investigate the incident and has yet to release its findings to the public. It has not yet allowed Vineyard Wind 1 to resume generating power.
Trump re-election raises fears about offshore wind’s future
President-elect Donald Trump has spread misinformation about offshore wind and vowed to end it on “day one.” He could use an executive order to pause offshore wind leasing, just as the Biden administration did with oil and gas leases, or slow progress.
The wind industry has responded to Trump’s re-election by pitching the economic opportunities and business benefits of the nascent industry. (Post-election, a conservative organization also touted the economic benefits of offshore wind in a new report.) Offshore wind has earned support from some leaders in red states, where the project will attract hundreds of millions of dollars and create hundreds of jobs.
Trump has nominated North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the lead regulator of offshore wind. Burgum has supported renewable energy projects in his home state, but focuses largely on fossil fuels. Who will head BOEM remains to be seen.
Massachusetts bids on three more wind projects, but one withdraws
In September, the state announced its bids on three offshore wind projects in collaboration with Rhode Island. But as of December, Massachusetts can only move forward with two projects after Vineyard Wind 2 withdrew its plans. Connecticut, which officials had hoped would participate, failed to bid on Vineyard Wind 2’s remaining power, instead opting to purchase solar energy.
Massachusetts plans to purchase about 1,000 of the 1,200 megawatts for SouthCoast Wind — which received approval from the Biden administration in December — and all 800 megawatts for New England Wind 1 (an Avangrid project). It had previously planned to purchase up to 800 megawatts of the 1,200 megawatts for Vineyard Wind 2.
If SouthCoast Wind and New England Wind 1 go ahead, they will secure long-term (upwards of 30 years) of work for the Port of New Bedford, mostly for operations and maintenance once the wind farms are installed.
Both have issued letters of intent to use the under-construction New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal for operations, while SouthCoast Wind intends to use the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal to stage the project during construction, which Vineyard Wind 1 has been doing since last year. If that happens, it could provide another economic opportunity for union labor.
State expands offshore wind terminal in New Bedford
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration continued to invest in offshore wind infrastructure in 2024, announcing a planned expansion of New Bedford’s Marine Commerce Terminal to handle larger and heavier components, and “increase Massachusetts’ competitiveness” with other ports on the East Coast vying to support the industry’s buildout.
Since the terminal was built in 2015, offshore turbines have grown significantly in size, while larger port facilities are coming online, including in New York and New Jersey.
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a quasi-state agency, has committed $45 million toward the expansion, which it expects will be completed by December 2026.
The city’s second offshore wind terminal comes online
The Foss Marine Terminal opened its berth to offshore wind support vessels this year at the long-abandoned former Eversource-Sprague site.
It is one of four berths and a floating pier planned for the terminal, which will accommodate up to offshore wind construction, research and support vessels. The 27-acre privately-owned site won’t be finished for several more years.
Once more site work is completed, the terminal will temporarily serve as laydown space for non-wind turbine components. In the final phase, Foss will erect several buildings and warehouses for developers to store critical components and supplies.
Port cites “grave concerns” about wind power and fishing
Though the City of New Bedford continues to advocate for offshore wind development, it’s also defending the country’s highest value fishing port and its fishermen. In public comments at wind conferences and in letters to federal regulators, the Port Authority and Mayor Jon Mitchell have expressed concern over some planned offshore wind development, including recently off the New Jersey and mid-Atlantic coast.
The Port Authority commented on a 13.4 million-acre “call area,” which regulators drew broadly to gauge interest and learn of potential conflicts between existing ocean users. BOEM will continue to refine and reduce this area, ultimately finalizing “lease areas” that will go to auction.
“We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas,” Mitchell wrote in the letter to BOEM.
MassCEC picks New Bedford for a new Ocean Energy Center
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center pitched New Bedford to serve as the new home to an innovation center devoted to ocean-related power research, equipment building and testing, and the cultivation of new businesses. It’s modeled after existing innovation hubs in Europe.
The state has allocated $15 million for the venture, including $10 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The plan is supported by Mayor Mitchell, but has been met with some resistance. The agency wanted to lease less than half an acre of waterfront property, which sits next to Merrill’s restaurant, from the city’s Port Authority. Two council members and one property owner have objected to the location, and now the project is in limbo.
What’s on for 2025?
- Vineyard Wind will continue to work out of the New Bedford terminal through March. A spokesperson has not stated whether the company expects construction will be completed by then.
- Massachusetts is set to execute long-term contracts to purchase power for SouthCoast Wind and New England Wind.
- SouthCoast Wind is expected to receive final federal approval for construction in the spring.
- Construction will continue at the state’s second staging terminal, in Salem, but it will not be completed until 2026.
- New England Wind 1 expects to start construction, with full commercial operation by 2029.
2024: The year in review
The Light’s reporters dig into the top stories of 2024, noting what the developments could mean for the coming year.
- Thursday, Dec. 26: Grace Ferguson examines the housing crisis and New Bedford’s response to the critical need for affordable shelter.
- Friday, Dec. 27: Columnist Jack Spillane revisits the Club Madeirense S.S. Sacramento’s vote to allow female “festeiras” after more than a century of excluding women from planning roles.
- Monday, Dec. 30: Anastasia E. Lennon details the triumphs and setbacks in the offshore wind industry.
- Tuesday, Dec. 31: Education reporter Colin Hogan digs into the top developments in public schools and higher education.
- Wednesday, Jan. 1: Reporter Arthur Hirsch notes the changes voters brought, from new state legislators to President Donald Trump’s second term.
- Thursday, Jan. 2: Environmental reporter Adam Goldstein chronicles the effects of climate change and environmental developments in 2024.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
can you provide a chart of the number and location of all the area turbines built or planned by all three companies, Vineyard Wind 1, Southcoast Wind, New England Wind or tell me where I can find one? Thank you.
What is the unsubstantiated misinformation from Trump? You’ve made a blanket statement with ZERO support. Stop lying to the people. This is why legacy media is failing. Show the reciepts. On the other hand, there is plenty of info out there that supports the halt of this money laundering scheme. You applaud the fact that work will be had for unions but dismiss the continuation of the dismantling of the commercial fishing industry, an industry that FEEDS the world (approx half of the worlds protein is derived from the oceans with, likely, the smallest carbon footprint of any protein producing industry.)
How is a digital news website that lauched in 2021 considered “legacy media”? Is legacy media the ones that use the big words? Using small words Trump claimed that wind turbines could reduce nearby property values by as much as 75%, stating, “They’re ruining the value of your homes.” Trump said that wind turbines kill “hundreds and hundreds of eagles every year,” and even said, “If you love birds, you’d never want a windmill.” Trump suggested that “the noise [from wind turbines] causes cancer.”
As wind turbine construction increases whale deaths soar.
ACK for Whales: “Nantucket Residents Against Turbines” has a Supreme Court case # 24-337 against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The conference date is January 10, 2025
BOEM should have considered all the offshore wind projects rather than one at a time
First of all, I want to commend the NB Light on publishing well-written and objective articles. It is a huge breath of fresh air to have quality journalism here once again.
At any rate, if big offshore wind is going to work, in the future it’s overwhelmingly likely that it will be done with floating offshore structures rather than fixed bottom-mounted structures, for a couple of reasons:
– Deployment, maintenance and retrieval are worlds easier when you can just go grab the whole setup and tow it back into port.
– Floaters can be way, way offshore (cf. the recent Gulf of Maine leases) and completely over the horizon, so as not to have any viewshed impacts from shore.
– Floaters don’t cause massive amounts of sea noise during construction, because nothing is being driven into the seabed. This makes them much safer for, e.g., marine mammals.
BUT, let’s be real: NB will never be a staging area for floaters; the hurricane barrier’s 150′ opening is far too small. Ports like Salem are going to be the go-to for floating wind.
All in all, I am worried that NB is overly committing to the fixed offshore wind industry … I think we are getting out over our skis here, and setting ourselves up for massive disappointment.