SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind)

Southcoast Map
Map of SouthCoast Wind OCS-A 0521 lease area

What's New?

On Nov. 8, 2024, BOEM announced the availability of its Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the proposed SouthCoast Wind project, located approximately 26 nautical miles (nm) south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 nm south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. On Nov. 15, 2024, BOEM will publish a notice of availability of the Final EIS.

Background

On December 13-14, 2018, BOEM held a competitive lease sale offshore Massachusetts. Southcoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind) was identified as the winner of Lease Area OCS-A 0521 (127,388 acres) located approximately 23 miles offshore Nantucket, Massachusetts in federal waters.  

SouthCoast Wind is in the environmental and technical review phase within BOEM’s authorization process. This project is covered under FAST-41 and permitting progress can be found on the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) dashboard.

For more information on this lease area, including Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meetings and lease history please visit the Massachusetts Activities page.  For more information on public meetings, please visit the Environmental Review tab. For up-to-date leasing information, including the original lease any lease amendments that may have occurred since initial lease execution, visit the Lease and Grants page. For more information on departure requests, visit the Departure Requests page.  

Related Announcements

As required by the lease, SouthCoast Wind is required to develop a publicly available Fisheries Communications Plan.  

The Fisheries Communications Plan describes the strategies that the lessee intends to use for communicating with commercial and recreational fisheries prior to and during activities in support of the submission of a plan, such as a Site Assessment Plan or Construction and Operations Plan.  

The lessee's communication plan includes:

  • Information on the distribution of the “Notice to Mariners” and other outreach and coordination efforts.  
  • SouthCoast Wind’s Fisheries Liaison’s contact information.  
  • An outline of the process to file complaints with SouthCoast Wind and seek replacement of or compensation for lost gear. 

On May 26, 2020, BOEM approved the Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for lease OCS-A 0521 submitted by SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind Energy LLC). The SAP approval allows for the deployment of one floating light detection and ranging (FLiDAR) buoy to assess meteorological and oceanographic conditions on lease area OCS-A 0521. For additional information, please find the approved SAP below:

SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind) Construction and Operations Plan

SouthCoast Wind submitted its Construction and Operations Plan (COP) on February 15, 2021. Updated COP versions were submitted on August 30, 2021, October 28, 2021, March 16, 2022, December 22, 2022, September 19, 2023, July 31, 2024, and November 1, 2024. BOEM will review the COP and approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications to the proposed activities.

SouthCoast Wind intends to develop, build, and operate a commercial offshore wind energy facility capable of producing up to 2,400 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. The project is located within federal waters on the OCS, specifically in BOEM Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0521, approximately 23 miles offshore Massachusetts. 

Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS)

On Nov. 8, 2024, BOEM announced the availability of its Final EIS for the proposed SouthCoast Wind project. On Nov. 15, 2024, BOEM will publish a notice of availability of the Final EIS.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS)

On Feb. 13, 2023, BOEM announced the availability of the Draft EIS for the proposed SouthCoast Wind project offshore Massachusetts. The Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 17, 2023. Public comments on the Draft EIS were received through April 18, 2023. 

The following documents are available for your viewing.

Public Engagement on the Draft EIS 

BOEM held three virtual public meetings on the following dates, with recordings available below:

More information is available in the SouthCoast Wind Virtual Meeting Room.

Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

BOEM published a NOI to prepare an EIS for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC (formerly Mayflower Wind Energy LLC) the SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind) Project in the Federal Register on Nov. 1, 2021.  

The Notice of Intent initiated a 30-day public comment period that ended on Dec. 1, 2021.