Offshore wind farms off Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard: A guide of what to know

With more than 95,000 miles of coastline in the United States, why is Massachusetts the proverbial gold rush for offshore wind? What makes it so special that the waters off its coast are called the "Saudi Arabia" of wind power?

With one offshore wind project well underway and others in progress, Massachusetts is leading the way in the nation's green energy expansion and meeting the goals set for reducing carbon emissions.

How many wind farms areas are there? When will the first wind-powered electricity start to flow into the grid? How will the electricity get from offshore into your home? How will it affect your electricity bill? And how does it all help the environment?

Keep reading to find the answers to these, and more, questions related to offshore wind.

What makes Massachusetts the 'Saudi Arabia' of wind?

Anthony Kirincich, a scientist who studies physical oceanography at the Woods Hole Oceanaographic Institution, said it's a combination of factors, but the main one has to do with the atmospheric conditions that drive the weather as well as the oceans.

The really quick answer, he said, is the larger scale atmospheric flow patterns — the polar jet stream and the subtropical jet stream — "kind of draw together" and accelerate as everything moves from west to east.

"We in Massachusetts happen to be right at that place where convergences take place," he said.

The consistently strong wind patterns off the Massachusetts coast, particularly south of Martha's Vineyard, are borne out in the 2016 Offshore Wind Energy Resource Assessment for the United States from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

But other factors than atmospheric patterns converge here to make it ideal for offshore wind power production.

"Not only are the winds fairly strong, the continental shelf — the bottom of the ocean — is shallower," Kirincich said.

State Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, chairman of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy who has long supported offshore wind power development, summarized, "essentially, Massachusetts has a unique combination of; one, consistent, high-speed winds within distance from shore; two, shallow waters; and, three, substantial shoreline."

Wind resource maps show that wind speeds off the Massachusetts coast are slightly above 9 meters per second. A map from the Marine Cadastre National Viewer, compiled with data from National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit, shows how windspeed decreases as you move south along the East Coast, down to about 7 meters per second off Florida.

Offshore wind farms: Who is building them? who owns the waters? And who assigns the leases?

The offshore lease areas are in federal waters on the outer continental shelf south of Martha's Vineyard, southeast of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay and east of Montauk Point on Long Island, New York. Together they amount to about 800,000 acres.

"Waters in the outer continental shelf are considered public waters, so nobody owns them in the traditional sense of the word; however, they are considered federal — not state — waters because the federal government holds and manages them for the public good," Roy said.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an agency within the Department of Interior, assigns the leases. Permitting and environmental reviews are done at the federal, state, regional, local and tribal levels.

After a Construction and Operations Plan is approved, each lessee has an operating term of 25 years.

Here are the offshore wind projects in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Several offshore wind areas are in the outer continental shelf south of Martha's Vineyard, each at different stages of development and each variously landing in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. They include:

What is Vineyard Wind?

Touted as the nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind enterprise, Vineyard Wind 1 is an 800-megawatt project that is co-owned by Avangrid Renewables, LLC and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Power will go to Massachusetts and provide electricity to 400,000 homes, according to Avangrid.

What is Park City Wind?

An 804-megawatt project owned by Avangrid Renewables. This project is the first phase of a larger project called New England Wind and will occupy the northeast portion of the company's offshore lease area. Energy from Park City Wind will go Connecticut.

What is Commonwealth Wind?

A 1,232-megawatt project owned by Avangrid Renewables. This project is the second phase of New England Wind and will occupy the southwest portion of the company's offshore lease area. Power will go to Massachusetts and provide electricity to 700,000 homes.

What is SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind)?

A joint venture between Shell and Ocean Winds, this project is proposed to produce 2,400 megawatts of power in two parts — the first 1,200 landing at Brayton Point in Somerset, and the second landing in Falmouth.

On Feb. 1, the company formally changed its name to SouthCoast Wind.

“Last May we changed the name of our first 1,200 MW commitment to Mayflower Wind – SouthCoast.  We transition to SouthCoast Wind to further align with our local communities and stakeholders," said SouthCoast Wind CEO Francis Slingsby.

What is Revolution Wind?

A project owned jointly by Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource that will bring 304 megawatts to Connecticut and 400 megawatts to Rhode Island. The transmission cable is planned to land in North Kingston, Rhode Island.

What is South Fork Wind?

A 132-megawatt project owned jointly by Ørsted US Offshore .Wind and Eversource, with 12 turbines planned about 35 miles east of Montauk Point. Bringing power to the local grid in East Hampton, New York. A construction and operations plan was approved last year and onshore work is underway. Offshore work is set to start this spring.

What is Sunrise Wind?

A 924-megawatt project jointly owned by Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource to serve New York. The construction and operation plan is in progress, permitting has yet to start. The transmission cable is expected to land in central Long Island.

What is Beacon Wind?

A 1,230-megawatt project owned by Equinor and bp to serve New York. Permitting is yet to start. No cable landing site has been identified.

What are the advantages of wind power?

Wind power helps the environment by eliminating the use of fossil fuels in power generation and reducing emissions. Each wind project benefits the overall health of the environment.

For example, Vineyard Wind 1 will eliminate 1.68 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, according to the company. That is the same as taking 325,000 cars off the road.

Commonwealth Wind is looking at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.35 million tons annually, which is like taking another 460,000 cars off the road, while Park City Wind would reduce emissions by 1.59 million tons a year (310,000 car equivalent).

How will wind-generated energy impact your electricity bill?

With wind power in the mix, wholesale electricity rates won't be as sensitive to changes in the market as fossil fuels.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas was the largest source of energy for electricity production in the U.S. in 2021, accounting for about 38%, followed by coal at 22% and petroleum at less than 1%. Other sources are nuclear energy and renewable energy.

When fossil fuel prices go up, or supplies are short, electricity rates rise. With power from offshore wind flowing through the grid, there will be less volatility and generally lower rates overall, Ian Campbell of Vineyard Wind said.

Where are the Massachusetts-bound wind projects connecting to shore?

Vineyard Wind has already landed two, 230-kilovolt power export cables at Barnstable's Covell Beach. These will eventually be connected to the wind farm south of Martha's Vineyard.

Commonwealth Wind is proposing to land three cables at Barnstable's Dowses Beach, a plan that has drawn strong opposition from neighbors. An ad hoc community group called Save Greater Dowses Beach is circulating a petition, both on paper and online via Change.org, to stop the company's plans.

Concerned in Barnstable:Cold wind blows on proposed offshore cable landing at Dowses Beach

Park City Wind's plan calls for bringing two 400-megawatt transmission cables ashore at Barnstable's Craigville Beach.

SouthCoast Wind will land at Brayton Point in Somerset, and is also exploring sites for a second landing in Falmouth but has met with some criticism. On Dec. 19, the Falmouth Select Board turned down the company's request to explore three public sites for possible electric cables — officials said they took the action because of unanswered questions from the public.

When will wind turbines be built off Cape Cod?

Vineyard Wind completed permitting in 2020, broke ground in 2021 and is on track to be fully operational in 2024.

Environmental review and state and local permitting are ongoing for Park City Wind, Commonwealth Wind and SouthCoast Wind.

Park City Wind is more than halfway through the process. According to the company, it has completed the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act environmental review process and a substantial portion of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) review process. Benchmarks for 2023 include hearings by the Cape Cod Commission and the Barnstable Conservation Commission.

On track to bring power ashore this yearOffshore wind company lays final cable at Barnstable beach. What is next?

Commonwealth Wind is early in the permitting and environmental review process.

When will power from wind energy come ashore in Massachusetts?

Vineyard Wind is on track to bring its first wind-generated power ashore later this year, and expects to be fully operational by next year.

Park City Wind expects to be commercially operational in 2027, followed by Commonwealth Wind and SouthCoast Wind in 2028.

How much does it cost to build a commercial-scale wind farm?

The cost of developing an offshore wind project runs into the billions. The various companies tend to keep their exact costs close to the vest for competitive reasons, but as an example, Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller says his company secured $2.3 billion from nine banks around the world.

How have world events caused wind farm construction costs to increase?

What's troubling offshore wind companies that are still early in their permitting process is a sharp increase in prices owing to international market conditions and burgeoning worldwide interest in offshore wind development. Executives with New England Wind at a January open house about Park City Wind pointed at the war in Ukraine, record increases in interest rates, inflation, supply chain issues and exploding demand for wind farms in Europe and elsewhere as causes.

Criticism in FalmouthMayflower Wind responds, after criticism in Falmouth over communication

The war in Ukraine particularly has "wreaked havoc" on the cost of steel, a key component in the construction of wind turbines, according to the project's manager of external affairs Pat Johnson. He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine highlights the need for alternative, more stable energy sources, consequently bumping up interest in offshore wind development in Europe and elsewhere.

Johnson said while Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind were bid in 2019 and 2021, their supply chain contracts were not locked in because there were still years of permitting ahead. Now, given the world economic situation, "projects that were profitable under yesterday's economic conditions are no longer profitable."

For this reason, Avangrid is planning to re-bid its projects while continuing with the permitting already underway. Commonwealth Wind will do this with the next Massachusetts offshore wind power procurement round in April, and the company is working with Connecticut officials either to renegotiate their existing contract or go to bid again.

How many wind turbines does each wind farm plan to install?

Vineyard Wind is planning a total of 62 General Electric Haliade-X turbines, spaced 1 nautical mile apart. Each turbine will be able to generate up to 13 megawatts

Park City Wind plans 50 turbines. There is no turbine count for Commonwealth Wind, since Avangrid has not yet made a final turbine selection for the project. Turbines will be spaced 1 nautical mile apart.

SouthCoast Wind also has yet to determine the number of turbines. The number of turbines needed depends on the type of turbine that will be used.

So, how big is a wind turbine and its blades?

Just how big are the turbines? That really depends on the type of turbine used.

Vineyard Wind's General Electric Haliade-X turbines can serve as an example, though. Each of these turbines include a monopile that will anchor it to the seafloor, topped by a transitional piece at the surface, then a tower topped by a nacelle and the blades. Each blade is 107 meters, or almost the length of a football field including the end zones (109.7 meters). The height of each turbine is about the same as three Statues of Liberty stacked up, (about 850 feet) from blade tip to the water's surface.

According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, this scale is typical for offshore wind turbines. The greater heights and longer blades allow each turbine to create more energy more efficiently, therefore fewer turbines are needed to produce the same power that shorter turbines with shorter blades would generate.

Wind Turbines: How offshore wind power works

Wind turbines work on a simple principle, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy notes: "Wind turns the propeller-like blades of a turbine around a rotor, which spins a generator, which creates electricity."

Specifically, the kinetic (or moving) energy of wind is converted into electricity using the aerodynamic force from the blades.

"When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag," according to the agency. "The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin."

The rotor, in turn, creates rotation in a generator that converts the mechanical energy into electricity. The power is collected by an offshore substation before it is transmitted ashore through submarine cables, is run through on-shore substations and finally enters the power distribution grid.

In the case of offshore power, the electricity travels under the seabed at higher voltages than onshore because it is more efficient. Onshore substations put the power through a series of transformers to downgrade the voltage so it is compatible with the capacity of the distribution lines.

Offshore wind versus onshore wind power

Offshore wind is just getting started in Massachusetts, but the state is no stranger to wind power. It is home to more than 44 land-based wind farms in more than 30 communities, according to the state Renewable and Alternative Energy Division. Collectively they generate more than 100 megawatts of power.

When it comes to power-generating capacity, offshore wind is the real workhorse because the ocean environment provides higher and more consistent wind speeds.

What are the advantages of wind power?

Wind power helps the environment by eliminating the use of fossil fuels in power generation and reducing emissions. Each wind project benefits the overall health of the environment.

For example, Vineyard Wind 1 will eliminate 1.68 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, according to the company. That is the same as taking 325,000 cars off the road.

Commonwealth Wind is looking at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.35 million tons annually, which is like taking another 460,000 cars off the road, while Park City Wind would reduce emissions by 1.59 million tons a year (310,000 car equivalent).

Contact Heather McCarron at hmccarron@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Offshore wind energy projects: A guide of wind turbines to dates