Federal overreach presents significant environmental, economic, and national security concerns

Green Oceans, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organisation, released its comprehensive report entitled, Cancelling Offshore Wind Leases. The report, by Planet A Strategies, analyzes the legal frameworks underlying federal agency decision-making for offshore wind (OSW) development in six offshore wind projects located in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Wind Energy Areas (RI/MA WEAs), which encompass nearly a million acres of ocean territory on the outer coastal shelf. It outlines potential violations of statutory and regulatory requirements under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and finds that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) decisions to promulgate these contracts not only exceed its statutory authority but also violate procedural law to justify projects that are causing irreversible environmental, cultural, and economic consequences.

“This Report demonstrates that BOEM’s review of these projects was fraught with omitted, misrepresented, and arguably false information regarding its ability to provide reliable electricity,” said Green Oceans President Lisa Quattrocki Knight. “The projects also have significant adverse environmental, economic, and national security consequences. The Trump Administration has sufficient executive authority and reason to cancel the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Wind Energy Areas leases.”

Critical data and legal criteria in the report reveal possible omissions or misrepresentations by OSW project developers and government decision-makers. This is shown by citing OCSLA provisions, environmental protection statutes, state obligations to serve, Federal Power Act electricity system reliability rules, and federal requirements from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). These include misrepresentations about:

• Bulk transmission system reliability
• Actual installed capacity requirements for fully decarbonized electricity generation
• Actual amount of electricity generated by OSW operations versus ratepayer demand
• Illegal segment-by-segment lease issuance
• Encroachment on national security operations and training
• Dire economic impacts on maritime activities like fishing and navigation

The North Atlantic right whale population resides in the RI/MA WEA. The region also encompasses one of the last remaining spawning grounds for Southern New England cod. Offshore wind development permitted by these leases could lead to the extinction of both species. Federal documents also confirm that offshore developments will compromise the East Coast’s only Early Warning Radar system operated by Cape Cod Space Force Stations, underwater threat detection capabilities, military readiness, and Coast Guard search and rescue operations. BOEM’s studies acknowledge long-term, major adverse and irreversible impacts on fishing and regional fisheries, and the historical and cultural resources of the Wampanoag Nation of Gay Head/Aquinnah. The Wampanoag Nation has inhabited Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years. BOEM did not adequately consider the cumulative impact of all proposed development on the entire lease area, a legal requirement of their authority.

The Green Oceans report aligns with the ongoing comprehensive federal review of wind leasing and permitting practices, as directed by the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025, and makes the case for immediate intervention overwhelming, both on legal and policy grounds. The six offshore wind projects referenced throughout this announcement are: Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind, South Fork Wind, Sunrise Wind, SouthCoast Wind, and New England Wind.

You may access the full report here: https://www.green-oceans.org/our-information-archive/cancelling-offshore-wind-leases

Source: BUSINESS WIRE