NEW BEDFORD – A proposed 800 megawatt wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard has made it through the first step of state’s environmental review.
The Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office has issued a certificate for Vineyard Wind’s Environmental Notification Form.
The project will now move ahead with the Draft Environmental Impact Report. The DEIR is expected to be issued later this spring and will be subject to additional comment.
“We are pleased to have completed the first step of the multi-step MEPA environmental review process and would like to thank the many agencies, elected officials, advocacy groups, and interested citizens who provided comments on our initial Environmental Notification Form,” said Erich Stephens, the chief development officer for Vineyard Wind.
“We look forward to working collaboratively with local agencies and officials, the Wampanoag tribes, local, state, and national environmental groups, fishermen, residents and other stakeholders in preparing the Draft Environmental Impact Report, which we plan to submit this spring.”
Stephens said project officials remain confident that all concerns regarding short-term impacts associated with construction of the Vineyard Wind Connector will be addressed while demonstrating there will be no long-term impacts to the local environment.
Vineyard Wind officials say the project will generate enough electricity to power up to 400,000 homes. The proposal calls for construction to begin in 2019.
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