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Proposed Wind Farms in Buzzards Bay

Offshore Wind Turbines or "Wind Farms"

With increasing energy costs and increasing energy and electricity generating demands, and with concerns about environmental impacts associated with the transport and consumption of fossil fuels, there has been interest in all levels of government for cleaner renewable supplies of energy. One of the long discussed renewable energy options has been wind energy, and in recent years, electricity generating wind turbines have become economically competitive with fossil fuel burning plants. In some states like California and Texas, wind turbines now meet a large portion of electrical needs.

These wind farms need space, and in more heavily urbanized regions, wind farms, or arrays of wind turbines, in offshore coastal areas are being considered as viable alternatives to land based wind farms. In several European countries, large offshore wind farms have already been built.

Buzzards Bay Wind Farms

Until 2006, only one wind farm project has been proposed for Buzzards Bay. This was the 2002 proposal by Winergy LLC for a wind farm proposed off Gunning Point, in the town of Falmouth. The debate over Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound that was filed a year earlier had already generated a lot of interest and discussion among area municipal officials and residents about a potential Buzzards Bay wind farm. Adding to the debate was the April 2003 Bouchard No. 120 oil spill of No. 6 fuel in Buzzards Bay. Costing nearly $40 million dollars to clean up, and oiling tens of miles of shoreline, the barge was in transit to the Mirant oil burning electricity generating facility in the Cape Cod Canal.

In late July 2003, Winergy announced they were withdrawing their application to build a wind turbine facility in Buzzards Bay. Publicly the company stated that this was due to local opposition and concerns.

In a practical sense, anyone appreciating the differences between permitting wind farms in state versus federal waters (see below), will recognize that it is unlikely that an offshore wind farm could ever be built in Buzzards Bay (or other state waters), unless it had the support of the state Executive Branch, the state legislature, and residents and officials of the town where they would be built.

Patriot Renewables LLC Proposed Buzzards Bay Wind Farms

On May 31, 2006, Patriot Renewables LLC filed this Environmental Notification Form (ENF) to construct between 90 and 120 wind turbines in three location within Buzzards Bay. The plan is titled the "South Coast Offshore Wind Project." The three sites are 3 to 4 miles off the coast of Sconticut Neck in Fairhaven, Barneys Joy in Dartmouth and Naushon Island, in the Town of Gosnold. The electrical generating capacity of the $750 million system is estimated to be 300 megawatts, and the electricity would enter the regional electrical grid via underwater cables entering in the Town of Fairhaven.

In July of 2006, the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA) held two public consultation and scoping sessions for the South Coast Offshore Wind Project on July 12, 2006; one in the Town of Fairhaven and one in the City of New Bedford. In its announcement, MEPA stated: "An Environmental Notification Form (ENF) has been filed for the proposed project, which will require the preparation of a Mandatory Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The project as proposed in the ENF consists of construction and operation of 90-120 wind turbine generators in the Buzzards Bay area. The project will produce up to 300 MW of renewable energy, which will be transmitted to the mainland electrical transmission system via a submarine cable interconnection to a location in Fairhaven (Egypt Lane). Permits applicable to the project include a Chapter 91 License and 401 Water Quality Certification from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and a US Army Corps of Engineers 404 individual permit. The proposed project also requires a MA Coastal Zone Management (CZM) federal consistency review and an Order of Conditions from the Fairhaven Conservation Commission. The proposed project is also subject to the Ocean Sanctuaries Act."

On August 9, 2006, MEPA issued an ENF Certificate for this project. The ENF certificates states what state and local permits are required by the project and states that the applicant needs to prepare and file an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). An EIR is a comprehensive environmental impact assessment document, and the ENF certificate spells out what must be addressed in the EIR. For a project of this scope, an EIR could take many months to prepare at considerable cost. However, before the applicant prepares an EIR, they may wish to address an even more significant issue identified in the ENF certificate. In the ENF certificate, it is stated, "the project as proposed is not permittable under the Ocean Sanctuaries Act." Because all of Buzzards Bay is in the Cape and Islands Ocean Sanctuary, and because it appears that this last obstacle can only be addressed by a change in the law by the state legislature, it is possible that Patriot Renewals may delay preparation of an EIR for this project until this law is changed.

Additional Links for information on this Project

Note: The "South Coast Offshore Wind Project" is the project proposed by Patriot Renewables LLC described and shown on the map below. The July 12, 2006 slide show presentation is available at the SouthCoastWind.org website.

Boston Globe May 24, 2006: Buzzards Bay wind farm proposed

NB Standard Times May 28, 2006: Debate swirls around wind turbine plan

Boston Globe June 3, 2006: Mass. is urged to lead the way on wind farms

Patriot Renewables SouthCoastWind.org website has additional maps relevant to the ENF application.

Land Based Wind Turbines

In contrast to siting wind turbines on the water, land based wind turbines are considerably easier to permit. In April 2006, the first wind turbine in the Buzzards Bay watershed was built at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the village of Buzzards Bay in the Town of Bourne, MA. When this 2/3 megawatt facility went on line in the summer of 2006, it was projected to save the Academy $300,000 annually in electric costs. The Town of Falmouth is considering placing a wind turbine at its wastewater facility in West Falmouth, to not only power the facility, but also earn the town additional revenue in selling excess power production. Other municipalities and universities in the Commonwealth are considering building their own turbines. As more land based wind turbines are built, there may be an increased public awareness and support for these structures.

Standard Times Newspaper article 7/24/06: MMA shuts turbine for avian study.

State versus Federal Waters

Generally, waters within three miles of shore are considered state coastal waters. In most of Massachusetts, and for all of Buzzards Bay, these coastal waters are also within municipal corporate boundaries (see map above). For nearly enclosed bodies of water like Buzzards Bay that are wider than six miles across, there is no "hole" of federal waters in the middle, and instead the entire bay is considered coastal waters, going beyond this three-mile limit to the center of Buzzards Bay. Thus, no matter where you are in a boat in Buzzards Bay, you are actually in the waters of one of the Buzzards Bay coastal towns. Residents in coastal towns often do not realize how many municipal abutters their town truly has. In the case of Falmouth, nine municipalities abut the town's corporate boundaries, including the western watershed towns of Fairhaven, Marion, and Mattapoisett.

Within state waters, land under the sea is owned by the state with certain privileges and authorities conferred to municipalities. Generally, municipalities control the water surface zoning and uses, like the placement of moorings. No land under the low tide mark can be privately owned, but in the case of aquaculture projects, state and municipal government sometimes lease this land.

Municipal Coastal Surface Water Area Statistics

TOWN	2000 year-round pop.	Entire municipal area with coastal waters (sq. miles)	Land + Freshwater Pond area	Coastal Waters (sq. miles)
BOURNE	18,721	57.28	41.083	16.20
DARTMOUTH	30,666	96.21	61.953	34.26
FAIRHAVEN	16,159	40.88	12.409	28.47
FALMOUTH	32,660	103.22	46.007	57.21
GOSNOLD	86	135.04	13.441	121.60
MARION	5,123	27.98	14.121	13.86
MATTAPOISETT	6,268	42.26	17.493	24.77
NEW BEDFORD	93,768	33.39	20.279	13.12
WAREHAM	20,335	46.35	37.144	9.20
WESTPORT	14,183	89.80	52.112	37.69

Note: Water areas for Gosnold, Bourne and Falmouth include areas of Rhode Island Sound, Cape Cod Bay, and Vineyard Sound. Population statistics and areas are town wide, not just within the Buzzards Bay watershed.

State versus Federal Permitting of Wind Turbines

A wind farm located in federal waters must comply with the various permit requirements under the Clean Water Act. Because there is no discharge to waters from windmills, in a practical sense this means they only require a federal wetlands filling permit, issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers. This permit focuses only on wetland-related impacts. The Cape Winds project in central Nantucket Sound is considered to be in federal waters. (Because of its semi enclosed nature, some believe Massachusetts may have some rights over Nantucket Sound, although it is more likely federal legislation would be required to change the state-federal jurisdictional boundaries.)

On the other hand, a wind farm project in Buzzards Bay (i.e. in state and municipal waters), must comply with all state and local permitting. In state coastal waters, a federal Army Corps wetlands permit is still required, but a number of other state and local permits are required as well. These permits include a state Wetlands Protection Act permit (issued by the local Conservation Commission, but appeals of local decisions are reviewed by MA DEP), a state Chapter 91 Waterways License (which considers navigation and public access issues). Also required is an approval by the Executive office of Environmental Affairs under the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA). This MEPA approval will also require consistency with the Massachusetts Ocean Sanctuaries Act, because all of Buzzards Bay is in a Massachusetts Ocean Sanctuary. The Ocean Sanctuaries Act explicitly prohibits "the construction or operation of offshore or floating electric generating stations" (Chapter 132A: Section 15).

In 2007, the Secretary of Environmental Affairs concluded the Ocean Sanctuaries prohibits water based wind farms. Because 85% of all state waters have been designated as Ocean Sanctuaries, wind farms (and tidal energy projects) are essentially banned from Massachusetts state waters unless the state legislature explicitly removes this obstacle. In November 2007, the state house approved such a bill as part of the budget, but this amendment was defeated. In February 2008, the state legislature passed an oceans management bill that included amendments to the Ocean Sanctuaries Act, eliminating the provisions prohibiting the construction of electrical generating facilities. Even with this amendment of the Ocean Sanctuaries Act, all state, federal, and local permitting requirements remain in place, and there would remain many obstacles to building a wind farm near the coast.

One of the most significant of these additional obstacles is the Chapter 91 waterways licenses requirement. First, the Chapter 91 regulations have an explicit prohibition against construction on submerged tidelands that is not "water dependent" (that is principally relating to fishing, fowling, and navigation). Unless the state accepts an argument that wind farms are a water dependent use (and perhaps such a case could be made), then the applicant is required to obtain a variance from Chapter 91 from the Commissioner of DEP. Alternatively, DEP could promulgate new Chapter 91 regulations making allowances of wind and tidal energy facilities. Finally, Chapter 91 permits are one of the few state permits that require the signature of the Governor.

Approval of any one of the aforementioned permit applications is exclusive and independent of the others. Either the applicant or an aggrieved party can appeal these permits decisions as allowed under the relevant laws and regulations. Because the state government owns the land, there is no constitutional "takings" issue if a project is denied.

Winergy Falmouth Turbines

As noted above, Winergy LLC had proposed wind turbines off Gunning Point, along the coast of Falmouth. On March 25, 2003, Winergy LLC submitted an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) to the state's MEPA (Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act) office. This is the first step in the state application and permitting process. On May 29 2003, MEPA completed its review, and the decision by the Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs required the submission of a complete Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Generally, EIRs are required for large projects like this, so the requirement is unsurprising. Like decision letters of this type, the Secretary's letter enumerated the specific information that must be included in the Winergy's EIR. These include detailed studies of potential impacts. Completion of an EIR of this complexity by an applicant can take months to even years, and can be expensive. Typically, an applicant will apply for other required permits while preparing an EIR. However, no state permit can be issued until a MEPA EIR decision is issued.

However, at the end of July 2003, Winergy's withdrew its permit for its Buzzards Bay wind turbine site in Falmouth waters. Click this link to read the Cape Cod Times July 31, 2003 Winergy Story.

Coalition's Rasmussen NBST 2/8/04 editorial on wind farms in Buzzards Bay.

New Bedford Mayor Kalisz's NBST 2/16/04 editorial on wind farms in New Bedford.

Special Consideration for Buzzards Bay

Besides the permitting issues described above, two other issues would require consideration for wind farms in Buzzards Bay, depending upon their proposed location. First, in Buzzards Bay, one half of North America's breeding pairs of the Roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) can be found on two tiny islands. The EPA classifies the species as endangered. Over the past two decades, considerable effort has been put into the study and management of this population. Go to our Roseate tern page for more information about this effort.

Second, navigation issues need to be reviewed because Buzzards Bay is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway system and is an important recreational and commercial boating area. As noted on our Bay and Watershed Information page, more than 12,000 boats can be found moored or on Buzzards Bay during peak summertime holidays.

Buzzards Bay is connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal. The 480-foot wide Cape Cod Canal is the world's widest sea-level canal, and it has a navigable depth of 32 feet at mean low water. As noted on the Army Corps Cape Cod Canal website, more than 20,000 vessels pass through the Canal annually. Many of these vessels are smaller recreational vessels, but in a busy 24 hour period, perhaps 20 to 30 larger transport vessels including tankers, barges, tugs, ferries, fishing vessels, container vessels, cruise ships, and other transport vessels pass through the canal.

Other vessels entering Buzzards Bay bring cargo to New Bedford Harbor, which also is home to one of the largest fishing fleets on the east Coast, with approximately 270 vessels.

Nantucket Sound Wind Farms Update

In contrast to the Winergy application for Buzzards Bay, the Cape Winds application for Nantucket Sound has continued to advance through the permitting process, which has now stretched on for four years. On March 30, 2007, Ian Bowles, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs signed a certificate finding that Cape Wind's Environmental Review "adequately and properly complies" with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act.", and could proceed to permitting at the state's agencies. The MEPA filing principally covers the portion of the project in state waters, including the cable that would transmit electric power from the wind farm to the mainland, which is proposed to make landfall in the Town of Yarmouth. The portion of the Cape Wind project located in federal waters is still under federal environmental review led by the US Department of the Interior, Minerals Management. Read the complete EEA March 30, 2007 press release to learn more.

On January 18, 2008, MMS issued a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this proposed facility. This Federal Register Notice and other documentation pertaining to the Cape Wind proposal may be accessed through the MMS's internet website at: www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/CapeWind.htm. MMS is seeking public input on the environmental impacts of the proposed wind energy facility, including impacts to maritime safety. A 60-day period to receive written public comments extends to 20 March 2008. All written comments should be submitted directly to MMS through the "MMS Public Connect" on-line commenting system via the internet link above (the preferred method), or by mail to:

MMS Cape Wind Energy Project
TRC Environmental Corporation
Wannalancit Mills
650 Suffolk Street
Lowell, MA 01854

Additional Background on Cape Wind

In November 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed Cape Wind Project in Nantucket Sound. The project as originally proposed would result in the construction of 130 wind turbine generators and associated structures, producing 454 megawatts of power, in the waters of Nantucket Sound. The subject of heated debate, the 420-foot tall turbines would be located approximately 4 miles from Yarmouth, 5.5 miles from Martha's Vineyard, and 11 miles from Nantucket. The project has been revised somewhat as a result of a recent reinterpretation of the extent of jurisdiction of the state into Nantucket Sound. From a summer 2005 CZMail:

The Secretary of EOEA "issued a Certificate for the Cape Wind Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) stating that the DEIR adequately and properly complies with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). However, the Secretary is requiring that the project proponent provide additional characterizations of project alternatives, including other locations and configurations; oceanographic modeling data of Nantucket Sound's sediment transport pathways and how they could be affected by the project; data on the use of the Sound by birds and aquatic organisms; and an additional analysis of the visual impacts of the project. The Certificate also noted that due to a recent change to the state boundary in Nantucket Sound, some of the proposed wind turbines are planned for state waters, which would be prohibited under the Ocean Sanctuaries Act."

The Final Certificate on Cape Wind can be viewed at the MEPA website, Certificate 12643 feir (opens in new window).

On the federal level, the Army Corps is continuing to review comments received on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and will issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement. Information about the federal permit, and all supporting info is available at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/windfarm.htm. The original DEIS can be viewed at www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/deis.htm. One attachment that had relevance to Buzzards Bay was the report: Technical Report for Nantucket Sound Windfarm: Evaluation of potential impacts on Roseate Tern and Piping Plover(large pdf file).

Underwater Turbine System Proposed for Vineyard Sound

An underwater turbine system has been proposed by the Massachusetts Tidal Energy Company of Washington, DC. On April 17 the company filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit for the venture, called the Cape and Islands Tidal Energy Hydroelectric Project. The turbines would be located underwater and water currents would drive a turbine system. This work appears to be in the study and evaluation phase, and because the area is in state and local waters, local and state permits would be required before any such facilities are constructed. Information about the project was posted in the May 25, 2006 Federal Register and at FERC elibrary information on docket P-12670. View map.

Another Turbine Twist: Tax Revenue

Another consideration that has not yet been explored by the press is that wind turbines within municipal corporate boundaries might be considered personal property, and taxed as such. Most residents know that towns assess taxes for real property like land and houses, as well as personal property, like cars and boats, but did you know that municipalities can and do assess taxes on personal property like docks, furniture in second homes, machinery, horses, utility poles, and transmission lines? This taxing authority is spelled out in Chapter 59: Section 18. Personal property; assessment. Does this mean that towns could tax each wind turbine? Well actually the tax laws are a little more complicated when it comes to businesses and electrical generation facilities, and some exemptions are spelled on in these tax laws: Chapter 59: Section 5. Property; exemptions, see 16th clause and Chapter 59: Section 38H. Transition payments to municipalities in which an affiliated generation facility is located . No doubt many attorneys are studying the property tax implications of these proposed wind farms.

Links

Cape Cod Times Wind Farm Story Archives.

MEPA summary information page for the Falmouth Winergy project

Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy Page

Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy Wind Energy Maps Page

Massachusetts-Rhode Island-Connecticut Wind Atlas

US State's Wind Energy Generation Map, Info

Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources Renewable Energy Programs

U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory

American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)

Cape Wind (Company proposing Wind Farm in Nantucket Sound)

Hull, MA wind generator

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay's Wind Energy Policy


A Town of Fairhaven Wind Farm Feasibility Study

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