The Island-owned energy cooperative, along with a partner, was awarded a provisional lease to develop an offshore wind farm in federal waters off the Vineyard.
The Island-owned energy cooperative Vineyard Power, along with a partner, was awarded a provisional lease Thursday to develop an offshore wind farm in federal waters off the Vineyard. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the lease following an online auction Thursday morning. Vineyard Power and its partner Offshore MW bid $166,000 for the right to lease just over 166,886 acres about 12 nautical miles south of the Island. One other lease was awarded Thursday to a separate bidder, RES America Development Inc., for a little over $281,000. Four lease areas were up for bid.
“This is a huge milestone,” Vineyard Power president Richard Andre told the Gazette following an announcement by the Department of the Interior. “We’ve had all these little steps we have taken, and now this one truly feels like a real sense of accomplishment.”
The bid next goes through a process that includes review and approval by the U.S. Department of Justice. Once that is cleared, Vineyard Power and Offshore MW will have 45 days to pay the first year’s $500,000 annual rent, and then will spend the next four and a half years developing a detailed plan for construction. There are still many technical steps and hurdles to clear, including an environmental impact statement and state legislation that would clear the way for power purchase agreements with utility companies. The power purchase agreements are needed to obtain financing.
The nonprofit Island energy cooperative was formed five years ago and has about 1,400 members with an ultimate goal of 8,000 members. To date the cooperative has focused largely on solar installation sites around the Island and on planning for the wind farm leasing venture. Mr. Andre said early plans call for building a wind farm of 350 to 400 megawatts, or about 60 to 65 turbines. Vineyard Power’s share would be approximately 40 megawatts or six or seven turbines, he said.
The 1,200-square-mile Massachusetts wind energy area begins 12 nautical miles from shore and is divided diagonally into four zones. Developers bid on 25-year leases on one or more of the zones at the online auction Thursday. Although there were many qualified bidders, in the end only two bidders participated, Mr. Andre said.
The process was costly and involved an advance deposit of about $450,000 per lease area. Vineyard Power and Offshore MW put down a deposit for two preferred areas and in the end were awarded one. Mr. Andre said the online auction involved computerized tokens for qualified bidders and began at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. “It went two rounds, extremely quick,” he said. “We were announced the winner of one zone by 10 a.m.” The bidding was sanctioned by Vineyard Power membership earlier this month. A key part of the process involved a community benefits agreement that had been approved by BOEM. Under the agreement, developers who partnered with a community organization such as Vineyard Power qualified for a 10 per cent discount. Mr. Andre said Vineyard Power’s community benefits agreement with Offshore MW, executed formally on Jan. 14, marked a milestone of its own.
“This is the first community benefits agreement in the U.S. for offshore wind,” he said. “It’s a model for Martha’s Vineyard to form this cooperative and now to be awarded a lease.”
He concluded: “It’s been hard work getting to this stage; five years ago it seemed almost herculean. It’s a good day to pause and reflect.”
The article has been updated to correct Vineyard Power's share of the wind farm.
Comments
Massachusetts has major
Frank Haggerty MattapoisettMassachusetts has major problems at the New Bedford ocean wind turbine port
New Bedford Ocean Port: Break The Chain Of Corruption
https://plus.google.com/110428618913389869063/posts/BNZsdGbxiDf
We just put a stake in the
CAKonMVY Martha's Vineyard, MAWe just put a stake in the heart of Cape Wind to preserve Nantucket Sound. Why are there now people who want to despoil the Atlantic Ocean South of Martha's Vineyard? Surely it will raise Islanders' utility bills!
So we can produce our own
Ken EdgartownSo we can produce our own power and run the cord to the vineyard,with nstars new prices they might have a case.
It's strange to be a "winner"
Richard Vineyard HavenIt's strange to be a "winner" paying $500,000 per year for ocean acreage that nobody wants to see industrialized. Isn't it priceless as it is? Perhaps the local citizens would prefer that. Put it to a vote, band together to prohibit the lease areas altogether, and protect the ecosystem. Just switch the names of the "winners" to "Exxon" and "BP" and see how it sounds. The landlord sounds desperate, and will be happily filling their bank account while watching the next decade of debate...so the new "winners" have four and a half years to develop a plan...that's $2 million +, not including anything outside of renting a section of waves- at least float some solar panels on your new space for some legal expenses. After a majority of islanders vote that it is fine to watch the sunset behind the turbines to save a few bucks, then I'll feel better about it.
This plan is totally
Chris VHThis plan is totally different from what Vineyard Power presented 6 years ago when they were pushing memberships on everyone.
I wish the Gazette would dig into this debacle. We were supposed to get power directly from these projects. We were supposed to be developing community-owned offshore wind so that a big developer didn't put a HUGE project in the water. None of these things came true. In fact, we are actually helping a big corporation destroy the view.
Why doesn't someone at the Gazette report on this???
Looks like a city of red
Paul Adler ChilnarkLooks like a city of red blinking lights from my house. And this is only the beginning. Is it too late to evaluate this?
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