Falmouth Onshore Wind Cable Faults Unresolved 2024

In December 2021 an offshore wind company known to the New England grid operator as Queue Position, QP, 1225 proposed to place 400 megawatts of wind power buried through the town of Falmouth to get to the electric grid, ROW, right of way to get the power off the cape.

The New England grid operator is responsible for safely operating all bulk electric power generation and transmission conditions.

During the first and now ongoing second Cape Cod Resource Integration Studies faults known as N-1 and N-1-1 export limitations have been identified in the Falmouth electric right of way. Note # 1 (See link bottom)

The Falmouth onshore wind company has changed its name over the years but remains known as QP 1225 to the electric grid operator. Over time the onshore wind company has raised its request from 400 Megawatts to 1200 Megawatts through Falmouth. To put it in perspective the Pilgrim nuclear plant's total output was 680 Megawatts.

The offshore wind company is proposing siting a 1200 Megawatt six-acre high voltage direct current converter station on the Cape Cod aquifer in Falmouth. In case of a lightning strike or fire, the site has to bypass local safety zoning regulations for height, noise, radio frequencies, and environmental containment issues.

The early results of the Second Cape Cod study identified multiple system performance challenges with the continued addition of new generation interconnections to the Cape Cod area. These Falmouth QP 1225 study challenges have been ongoing since 2021 and remain unknown to the general public. The offshore wind company may have to pay for all the electric grid upgrades even offcape.

The Cape Cod studies in the past showed an additional onshore brand new 345,000 alternating current separate right-of-way would be needed. Right of way has setback requirements for residential neighborhoods.

Massachusetts is considering removing local zoning regulations for renewable energy projects aka offshore wind cables and HVDC converter stations. NIMBY used to mean "not in my back yard" and the state bypassing zoning regulations could soon mean "Next it may be you."

Bottom line:

The electric grid operator's ongoing study shows a submarine HVDC cable could also connect offshore wind generation directly to the Boston area bypassing Falmouth.

Electric Grid documents:
Note 1 Falmouth faults: https://www.iso-ne.com/static-assets/documents/2017/10/pp3_r8.pdf#:~:text=N-1-1%3A%20Scenarios%20that%20have%20contingency%20while%20a%20single,are%20made%20in%20preparation%20for%20the%20next%20contingency.

Note 2 Grid Study: https://www.iso-ne.com/static-assets/documents/2022/09/a03_second_cape_cod_resource_integration_study_status_update.pdf