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A Green Light For Commercial-Scale Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

May 27, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Offshore wind era in United States begins

The Biden administration has given final approval to a project it hopes will usher in a new era of wind energy in the United States.  The greenlight was announced by the Department of the Interior on May 11.

The Vineyard Wind project intends to install up to 84 huge wind turbines about 12 nautical miles off the cost of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.  In total, Vineyard Wind could generate 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 400,000 homes.  The construction project will create about 3,600 jobs.  The $2.8 billion project is a joint venture of the energy firms Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

The idea of a wind farm off the Massachusetts coast was conceived 20 years ago but ran into repeated setbacks, delays, and well-funded opposition from waterfront property owners concerned about what will ultimately be the barely discernable sight of tiny blips on the distant horizon.  The Trump administration moved to cancel the permitting process for Vineyard Wind, but the Biden administration revived the project in March as part of its greater efforts to tackle climate change.

Electricity generated by Vineyard Wind will travel via cables buried six feet below the ocean floor to Cape Cod, where they will connect to a substation and feed into the New England grid.  The project is expected to begin delivering wind-powered electricity in 2023.

The Biden administration says that it intends to fast-track permits for other wind projects off the Atlantic Coast and that it will offer $3 billion in federal loan guarantees for offshore wind projects and invest in upgrades to ports across the United States to support wind turbine construction.

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Biden Administration Approves Nation’s First Major Offshore Wind Farm

Photo, posted February 8, 2007, courtesy of mmatsuura via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Southern Pine Beetle

October 13, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/EW-10-13-17-The-Southern-Pine-Beetle.mp3

Recent sightings of a destructive tree-eating beetle in northeast pine forests have been alarming.  And a new study from Columbia University has confirmed what ecologists had feared all along:  they’re here to stay.

[Read more…] about The Southern Pine Beetle

Septic Systems and Water Contaminants

August 28, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-28-17-Septic-Systems-and-Water-Contaminants.mp3

A recent study has shown that septic systems in the U.S. routinely discharge pharmaceuticals, consumer product chemicals and other potentially hazardous substances into the environment.   The comprehensive study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, raises health concerns since these chemicals can end up in groundwater and drinking water supplies.

[Read more…] about Septic Systems and Water Contaminants

Satellites And Conservation Science

August 3, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-03-17-Satellites-and-Conservation-Science.mp3

Satellites orbiting the earth are becoming an increasingly powerful tool for counting and monitoring wildlife populations and to answer a host of other questions about the natural world.

[Read more…] about Satellites And Conservation Science

Climate Change And Buzzards Bay

February 15, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/EW-02-15-16-Climate-Change-and-Buzzards-Bay.mp3

The effects of climate change are being felt around the world, including in some well-known places in the Northeast.  Buzzards Bay is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism adjacent to Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

[Read more…] about Climate Change And Buzzards Bay

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