Engineering and Regulatory Challenges Facing the Development of Commercially Viable Offshore Wind Projects

Abstract

Cape Wind is a proposal to locate America's first offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts to generate renewable energy. First proposed in 2001, Cape Wind has faced numerous engineering and regulatory challenges. Great care was taken in the site selection process to ensure a technically and economically viable project that would generate wind energy on a utility scale. The regulatory environment and permitting process for Cape Wind has always been extensive and comprehensive, comprised of federal, state and local agencies. As a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the lead federal permitting agency changed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which resulted in a significant delay in the permitting schedule. Throughout the Environmental Impact Statement process with the ACOE and the MMS, numerous engineering and scientific studies have been performed on a wide host of environmental and economic issues. MMS issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in January, 2008. MMS officials have stated they expect to issue the Final Environmental Impact Statement in fall, 2008 and to issue a Record of Decision on Cape Wind thirty days later.