Offshore Wind

CAI has learned that the offshore wind developer Vineyard Offshore is eliminating 50 positions, some of them through layoffs.

On Cape Cod and the South Coast, where offshore wind is becoming part of the local economy, supporters and opponents are talking about what the order will mean.

An executive order President Trump issued on his first day in office pauses all new offshore wind leases and permits. But it doesn't stop projects that are fully permitted, as many in New England are.

Just hours after his inauguration on Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting new federal leases for offshore wind projects. He cited, as one reason, the impact offshore wind may have on marine life. “If you’re into whales,” Trump said, “you don’t want windmills.” Whale experts say the facts show otherwise.

The parties now say they expect to reach an agreement by March 31, more than two months after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to halt offshore wind.

Wind developers Avangrid and Ocean Winds are scheduled to sign contracts with utilities Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil next Wednesday. Their wind farms, New England Wind 1 and SouthCoast Wind, have been approved by the Biden administration.

Connecticut announced it is formally pulling the plug on an agreement with Rhode Island and Massachusetts to make a bulk purchase of offshore wind.

The controversial plan appears to stall after unsuccessful attempts at federal grants.

Lobsters and other sea creatures in areas selected for offshore wind development are about to hear a whole lot of noisy construction. How might it affect them? At a local dock, Cape Cod scientists are making some very loud banging noises to find out.

All four leases sold for the minimum bid of $50 per acre. That's a big drop from 2018.