Edgartown Wind Project Moves Ahead

EDGARTOWN, MA — The offshore wind energy project in Edgartown took a step forward this week after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) gave conditional approval to the proposal. The conditional approval, granted Tuesday, would allow Vineyard Wind to connect its 800-megawatt development area to the mainland electricity grid.

The project's plans to bury transmission cables in Edgartown, in the areas of Muskeget Channel and Nantucket Sound, had been denied by the Edgartown Conservation Commission this summer. But last month, a settlement agreement was reachedbetween Vineyard Wind and the commission, according to State House News Service.

According to Tuesday's conditional approval, signed by DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg, the proposed wind project will have an impact on the area's shellfish, fisheries, wildlife habitat, storm damage prevention and flood control.