Nantucket group asks feds to reconsider key permits for proposed offshore wind farms

A Nantucket-based group opposed to offshore wind is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider key permits it issued last summer for two proposed wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts.

New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 received all of their federal permits under the Biden administration, so wind advocates worry that if the EPA decides to take up this new challenge, it could create an opening for the Trump administration to stop other federally-permitted projects as well.

President Trump has made stopping offshore wind development a priority. Shortly after taking the oath of office, he declared a moratorium on leasing and permitting, and ordered a broad review of the industry.

So far, his executive action has not affected the handful of projects that are either under construction or cleared to begin construction soon. But legal and industry experts say they are closely watching what happens with the New England Wind projects because it could serve as a test of how far federal officials are willing to go to hobble the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry.

In a petition to the EPA, Nantucket Residents Against Turbines — better known as ACK for Whales — argued that air quality permits issued to the New England Wind projects were deficient. The group alleged the agency didn’t properly estimate air pollution from boats and other machinery used in constructing wind farms, and that regulators failed to consider the effect of “unanticipated” events like the blade failure last summer at the nearby Vineyard Wind project.

“Essentially, there are emissions that have been ignored,” said Amy DiSibio, a board member of Ack for Whales and summertime Nantucket resident. “So we just need to make sure that the real facts get out there.”

After the blade broke at the Vineyard Wind project, extra boats were needed to assess safety, clean up debris and replace other deficient blades. A similar problem at the New England Wind projects could cause short-term pollution that exceeds federal limits, according to the group’s petition.

“The vessel traffic that’s been out there, going back and forth, circling these things, I mean, it’s been unbelievable,” DiSibio said. The emissions from those boats “needs to be factored into the equation.”

If the EPA reopens the New England Wind permits, many wind industry experts fear the projects would be held up indefinitely because of Trump’s moratorium.

A spokesperson for the EPA would not confirm whether the agency has received the petition or intends to take up the request. The agency’s website does not list any pending cases about the New England Wind projects.

Avangrid, the project developer, declined to comment. But a spokesperson for the American Clean Power Association, a clean energy trade group that advocates for offshore wind, called the petition “yet another baseless and disruptive attempt aimed solely at delaying the development of approved and necessary energy projects.”

The spokesperson, Jason Ryan, wrote in an email that if the EPA agrees with the petitioners “it would send a chilling message to investors, undermining confidence in the U.S. business environment across all sectors.”

Ryan issued a similar statement last week after the EPA revoked the same air permit for Atlantic Shores, a proposed project off the coast of New Jersey. Though that project was also fully permitted by the Biden administration, Kris Ohleth, director of the advocacy group Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, said the two situations are different.

An anti-offshore wind group had challenged the Atlantic Shores air permit last fall within the 30-day appeals window. So when the Trump administration revoked the permit last week, it was already the subject of an open review proceeding, said Ohleth. The air permits for the New England Wind projects, on the other hand, were issued last April, and the ACK for Whales challenge came long after the appeal window had closed.

“Though this is outside of the 30-day window, I think they recognize that they have a sympathetic ear in [EPA administrator] Lee Zeldin,” Ohleth said.

ACK for Whales argued the timing of its appeal is allowed by a federal statute that gives government the authority to reevaluate a permit even after it's finalized, said Sinding Daly of the Conservation Law Foundation.

“The EPA would have to give an incredibly tortured reading of its own regulations to reopen the permit here,” Daly said.

But, she added, “I would not say anything is impossible right now.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the permitting status of the New England Wind projects. They have received all federal permits but not all state and local permits.