Shell-Ocean Winds' renamed US offshore giant makes key filing in race to build next year
Draft environmental impact statement for 2.4GW project off Massachusetts would allow installation to begin as soon as next year despite offtake contract dispute
Shell-Ocean Winds’ gigascale SouthCoast Wind joint venture (JV) reached a major milestone in its federal permitting with the release of its draft environmental impact statement (EIS), one of the last steps in the approval process that could clear the development for construction as early as 2024.
Located 30 miles (48km) south of Martha’s Vineyard off Massachusetts’ seaboard, SouthCoast project envelope is for 2.4GW of capacity, including 1.2GW already contracted to the state in two separate tenders.
“BOEM continues to make significant progress toward achieving this administration’s vision for a clean energy future – one that will combat climate change, create jobs to support families, and ensure economic opportunities are accessible to all communities,” said BOEM director Elizabeth Klein.
The developers changed the name to SouthCoast earlier this month to better reflect their “commitment to the people, businesses and communities of the SouthCoast” of Massachusetts.
Francis Slingsby, CEO of SouthCoast Wind, said: “We’re looking forward to thoughtful and engaging discussions with BOEM, our state and local stakeholders, and community members as we move toward permitting this important clean energy asset.”
This is the seventh construction and operations plan (COP) for a wind project in US waters to be issued a draft EIS, with BOEM targeting to greenlighting 16 projects by 2025.
SouthCoast aims to install up to 147 ultra-large wind turbines stretching over 127,000 acres with two export cable corridors.
One corridor would be used by multiple export cables making landfall in Falmouth, Massachusetts, with the second leading to the Brayton Point energy centre in Somerset.
BOEM expects to issue a record of decision on SouthCoast Wind by the end of this year, enabling the project to begin construction. Southcoast’s COP sees export cable preparation starting at the end of 2024, with onshore and offshore construction beginning in 2025 and lasting for three years.
Massachusetts PPA dispute
SouthCoast Wind won 405MW of capacity with a $75/MWh offer in the state’s third tender in 2021, but now says that the PPA contracts are no longer economically workable due to surging inflation and interest rates.
In a motion to the Department of Public Utilities last December, the JV said: “Extraordinary global economic conditions, including unexpected and significant commodity price increases and supply shortages, have materially increased the expected cost of financing and constructing” its project.
Furthermore, “the project and tax equity financing required for the delivery of Mayflower [SouthCoast] Wind project, along with the cost of such financing, has changed dramatically and unexpectedly as interest rates have risen sharply.”