The U.S. government has approved an offshore wind megaproject in the Atlantic. The megaproject will comprise 84 wind turbines and will be located within a 12-nautical-mile radius of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, two islands off the coast of Massachusetts. The wind farm will generate 800 MW of electricity and will provide electricity to 400,000 homes and businesses.
The project is part of a major investment plan to develop marine wind power, which consists of generating 30 GW of energy, enough to power 10 million homes in the US by 2030. To this end, the Biden administration plans to invest more than $12 billion a year on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
According to reports, only one offshore wind farm is fully operational in the US: Block Island Wind Farm, completed in late 2016 throughout the state of Rhode Island, with a capacity to produce 30 MW. A project in Virginia with a capacity of 12 MW will be completed in 2026 and could provide power to 600,000 homes, according to Dominion Energy. In addition, other projects are under development in Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.
