New England Wind Moves Closer to Construction After Issuances of Federal Department of Interior Record of Decision and U.S. EPA OCS Air Permits
May 30th, 2024
Epsilon client Avangrid, Inc., a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, received the federal Record of Decision (ROD) from the Department of the Interior for its New England Wind offshore wind facilities on April 2. The ROD represents a significant permitting milestone that brings the project closer to full federal approval for construction. Also in April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Clean Air Act Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Air Permits for both phases of New England Wind. Epsilon is honored to have served as lead environmental consultant for both phases of New England Wind.
When fully operational, the two facilities will supply approximately 2,000 megawatts (MW) of clean and renewable energy to New England’s electrical grid. New England Wind 1 is being developed in Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Area OCS-A 0534, immediately southwest of the 804 MW Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind facility, North America’s first utility-scale offshore wind development. The Lease Area is approximately 20 miles from the southwest corner of Martha’s Vineyard. New England Wind 2 is located southwest of New England Wind 1.
Epsilon prepared New England Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for review and approval by BOEM, the lead federal agency. The COP describes the construction, operations, and decommissioning of New England Wind and includes detailed impact assessments for physical, biological, and socioeconomic resources. Approval is anticipated in July 2024 (source). Epsilon also prepared New England Wind’s OCS Air Permit applications, which included an analysis of the air emissions associated with each project’s construction and operational activities as well as the emissions that would be avoided as a result of both projects. The OCS Air Permits regulate pollutants from OCS sources, such as engines on jack-up vessels and the electrical service platforms, during the construction and operation of New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2.
Epsilon is also leading the state, regional, and local permitting for state-jurisdictional elements of New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2. Several offshore export cables will transmit electricity to landfall sites in the Town of Barnstable. Underground onshore cables will connect the landfall sites to new onshore substations in Barnstable, which will then connect to Eversource’s existing 345 kilovolt (kV) West Barnstable Substation. Epsilon provided the routing and licensing services for the projects.
New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 are projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 4 million US tons per year, or the equivalent of taking approximately 700,000 cars off the road each year during the lifespan of the projects. Combined, the projects will create up to 9,200 full-time equivalent jobs and bring $8 billion in direct investment to the region.
Currently serving as Lead or Co-lead environmental consultant on seven commercial-scale wind facilities with estimated capacity of over 12,000 MW, Epsilon Associates is the leading environmental analysis, licensing, and permitting consultancy supporting North America’s offshore wind development market. Our work is supported by an outstanding cadre of specialized sub-consultants. Our permitting experience on marine and coastal projects spans more than 20 years, including offshore wind, terminals, submarine cables and pipelines, offshore sand mining, offshore and onshore transmission, regional electricity grid interconnections, and related major infrastructure projects.
About the Experts:
Maria Hartnett, Principal of Epsilon’s Offshore Wind Group specializes in environmental permitting and scientific analyses for offshore wind energy development, coastal and marine projects, dredging and disposal activities, and waterfront developments. Market Leader for Epsilon's Offshore Wind team, for more than 24 years she has been providing environmental consulting services in support of permit applications at the local, state, and federal levels. Ms. Hartnett’s areas of expertise include environmental regulatory analysis, preparation of impact assessments, coastal studies, geochemical evaluation of sediments, and development and implementation of monitoring and mitigation programs. Ms. Hartnett advocates effectively for clients with her strong grasp of scientific principles and clear, well-organized, and persuasive technical reports and presentations.
AJ Jablonowski PE, Principal has experience with a variety of industries, including power production, surface coating, chemical production, waste treatment, metalworking, electronics, food processing, and groundwater treatment. His work includes environmental licensing, compliance and due diligence audits, air permit applications, pollution control studies, accidental release prevention, and regulatory applicability studies. He reviews operations at a variety of industrial and power facilities and recommends process changes for regulatory compliance. He uses strong technical engineering skills and an ability to grasp regulatory nuances as part of his problem-solving approach. He acts as a technical resource for air pollution capture and control options, emissions tracking, and air regulatory interpretations.
Abbegail Nack, PE Senior Engineer in the Offshore Wind Group has 7 years of experience permitting offshore renewable wind energy projects in the US. Ms. Nack was a key member of the federal permitting team for the Vineyard Wind 1 project, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. Through that precedent-setting offshore wind project and several others, including New England Wind, she has acquired expertise in a broad range of environmental rules, regulations, programs, and filings including Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Air Regulations, Construction and Operations Plans (COPs) for renewable energy activities on the OCS, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Title 41 of Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD), Best Available Control Technology (BACT), and New Source Review (NSR), among others.