East Coast blowback

EACH SUMMER, thousands of tourists flock to Nantucket. They come to admire the island’s historical architecture and natural beauty, to whale watch, and to learn about Nantucket’s historical ties to the whaling industry: In the 18th and 19th centuries, whalemen set out from this onetime whaling capital of the world to earn their fortune harvesting valuable oil to fuel lamps.

Today, you’ll find another type of harvest occurring in the waters near Nantucket—the collection of wind energy. Government officials have awarded over 20 contracts for wind farm construction off America’s East Coast. They say offshore wind is an important source of clean energy that will help fight climate change. But a surprisingly diverse coalition is pushing back against these projects. The opponents worry about damage to the environment, and they believe the high costs outweigh any benefit.

Vineyard Wind 1 is the name of an offshore wind farm being built approximately 12 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket. Developers have erected eight turbines so far, with a total of 62 planned at a projected cost of around $4 billion. The project’s finances are bolstered by tax credits and a variety of other subsidies.

Surrounded by Atlantic waters, Vineyard Wind 1 is expected to produce around 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power roughly 400,000 homes. It is the first of nine offshore wind projects approved for that area.

Amy DiSibio owns a house on Nantucket. She and others are concerned about the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species of which there are fewer than 350 still living. She said the site of Vineyard Wind 1 “is absolutely right in their wheelhouse. You could not pick a worse spot on the planet. They migrate around it, and this is their safe haven.”

DiSibio serves on the board of ACK for Whales, a group that is suing to stop the construction of Vineyard Wind 1. Their lawsuit was dismissed in 2023, but they are appealing. “Our lawsuit in layman’s terms says, ‘Hey, U.S. government, you’re not paying attention to your own Endangered Species Act,’ and, ‘Hey U.S. government, you’re not following your own environmental protection laws,’” she said. She points to a rising number of dead whales washing up onshore.

Wind farm–related or natural causes? A dead whale lies on the beach in Seaside Park, N.J., last year. Wayne Parry/AP

Vineyard Wind LLC did not respond to my request for comment. Supporters of offshore wind say there is no proof that activities connected to wind farm construction caused the whale deaths.

DiSibio also fears the loss of Nantucket’s natural beauty, which may reduce tourism, a critical industry for the island. “Historic properties don’t look down on an industrial power plant,” she said. “You wouldn’t put these in the middle of Williamsburg, Va. Would you stick them in the Grand Canyon?”

She says groups like hers along the East Coast are going to court to stop offshore wind projects. The opponents include a wide variety of interests, such as local governments, restaurant owners, tourism groups, and fisheries.

Besides legal battles, offshore wind projects have run into other serious problems. Their costs have risen significantly since the projects were first approved. On Jan. 25, Ørsted, one of the world’s biggest offshore wind developers, announced it was walking away from a project in Maryland off the coast of Ocean City, originally approved in 2017. The company said in a statement that the project was “no longer commercially viable because of today’s challenging market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates and supply chain constraints.” Ørsted also backed out of two projects in New Jersey last year.

Despite these setbacks, the Biden administration is still bullish about offshore wind development, one of its major policy goals. “There are projects that are facing turbulence, and that’s not trivial,” Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser, told The New York Times in December. “But it’s not enough to take us off course from advancing significant progress.”

Kevin Dayaratna of the Heritage Foundation thinks government policies to promote offshore wind are “completely misguided.” He calculates any effect on the planet’s climate due to offshore wind energy adoption to be negligible. “The United States does not emit CO2 to the extent places like China, for example, do,” he said. “If you could figure out a way to switch to renewables or nuclear energy or anything of that nature, that does not emit carbon dioxide … you will see almost no impact.”

Dayaratna argues “all forms of energy should be allowed to compete on a level playing field,” rather than letting the government pick winners and losers with things like tax credits.

Meanwhile, construction on Vineyard Wind 1 is progressing. On Jan. 2, one of its turbines delivered approximately 5 megawatts of power to the New England grid, a delivery that was hailed by supporters as a “historic moment.”

Will the waters off Nantucket become a major source of lighting for New England homes once again? Time will tell. If recent setbacks are any indication, offshore wind still has a long way to go.