Offshore Wind Energy Facility “Vineyard Wind 1” Wins 2024 EBC New England Climate Change Award
April 4th, 2024
Epsilon Associates, Inc. successfully led federal, state, regional, and local environmental permitting efforts.
MAYNARD, Mass., April 4, 2024 – Epsilon Associates, Inc. (Epsilon) is pleased to announce that the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) has awarded its prestigious “EBC Ruth H. Silman Award for Climate Change Project of the Year” to Vineyard Wind 1. The Vineyard Wind 1 energy generation facility, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is the first large-scale offshore wind project in the United States. Epsilon led the federal, state, regional, and local permitting for the historic project.
Vineyard Wind 1 was the first of the current generation of U.S. commercial-scale offshore wind projects to file its Construction and Operations Plan (COP) with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Epsilon managed the preparation of the COP, which included a comprehensive assessment of impacts to air and water quality, geology, fisheries and benthic habitat, birds and other wildlife, marine mammals and sea turtles, coastal habitats, local economies and populations, visual resources, marine and air navigation, and historic and archaeological resources. In May 2021, Vineyard Wind 1 received the Record of Decision (ROD) from the U.S. Department of the Interior BOEM, the final major step in the federal review process.
Epsilon also managed preparation of all state, regional, and local environmental review and permitting documents for Vineyard Wind Connector 1, the state-jurisdictional components of Vineyard Wind 1. This included a detailed routing analysis and alternatives assessment for Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) and Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) reviews. Epsilon completed all state, regional, and local permitting on an aggressive schedule over a period of approximately 18 months.
Located on the outer continental shelf, the 806 MW facility consists of 62 wind turbines over 800 feet high. Vineyard Wind 1 first delivered energy to the grid on January 2, 2024, through the substation in Hyannis, Massachusetts. When fully operational, Vineyard Wind 1 will power approximately 400,000 homes while reducing carbon emissions by over 1.6 million tons per year. Additionally, the project has created more than 2,000 jobs to date and delivered $590 million in total economic output to Massachusetts’ economy.
About Epsilon Associates, Inc.
Epsilon Associates makes permits happen. Founded in 1997, our consulting scientists, planners and engineers bring that level of expertise and clarity clients need for successful project approvals. We support major Environment, Energy, Industry and Community projects across the United States, numbering over three thousand to-date.
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