Ørsted and Eversource’s project off the coast of Massachusetts, northeast US, has been designated as a covered project under Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41).
FAST-41 created new government structures and funding authorities to speed up the permitting process for selected infrastructure projects involving multiple agencies.
To date, Bay State Wind is the only offshore wind farm to be granted FAST-41 status, and to benefit from this approach.
In December, the developers submitted proposals to include part of Bay State Wind in Massachusetts’ 800MW request for proposals (RFP), which is due to have a final solicitation next year.
Bay State Wind would be located between 24 and 40 kilometres off the south coast of Massachusetts, and would consist of between 107 and 267 turbines, according to FAST-41's listings. Ørsted and Eversource expect the project to be commissioned in the 2020s.
Deepwater Wind, the developer behind the country’s first offshore wind farm, Block Island, and Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, also submitted projects in Massachusetts’ RFP.
