Offshore Wind Bypasses Falmouth Cable Route For Rhode Island

A proposed $5 billion 2400 megawatt offshore wind farm originally slated to come onshore in Falmouth Massachusetts received a boost with an agreement on all of the project’s transmission cables in Portsmouth, Rhode Island

After a four-hour hearing on January 18, 2024, the Portsmouth, Rhode Island Town Council approved an 18-page community agreement by vote giving the offshore wind company access to town property. The project calls for all 2400 megawatts to be installed in two 1200-megawatt segments to Brayton Point, Massachusetts.

Falmouth history:

Falmouth in 2010 and 2012 respectively installed two town-owned land-based commercial megawatt wind turbines. After the installations, it was disclosed each turbine generates 110 decibels of noise. #Note 1
The courts determined that the turbines were a nuisance and removed in 2022.

In 2019 negotiations started with Falmouth officials to access the town for an electric buried cable route to get ocean wind power off Cape Cod. On June 8, 2022, the offshore wind contractor presented plans to place 1200 megawatts of direct current power to a high-voltage direct current converter station in Falmouth. #Note 2
At the June meeting, 90 percent of those in attendance spoke out against the project.

The offshore wind company has a project to produce 2400 megawatts to be done in two stages of 1200 megawatts each. The first stage was to go through Falmouth and the second through Portsmouth Rhode Island to the old Brayton Point power station in Massachusetts.

Falmouth has a problem in that the electric grid can not handle 1200 megawatts of power which would have to be upgraded at the offshore wind company's expense, a six-acre high voltage direct current converter station on the Falmouth aquifer aka drinking water, Article 97 town meeting approval, construction on parks and fields designated for recreational use only, wind turbine zoning bylaw requiring a special permit and Falmouth history of ten years of wind turbine litigation over noise. Falmouth regulations only allow 6 decibels of noise over background noise.

HVDC, a six-acre high voltage direct current converter requires high walls and noise mitigation.

On January 18, 2024, the Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island agreed to allow all 2400 megawatts of wind power to go through their town to Brayton Point, Massachusetts in two equal 1200-megawatt segments. #Note 3
A high-voltage direct current converter station is being built on the Brownfield site at Brayton Point.

Coincidentally On January 18, 2024, Massachusetts put a hold on offshore wind bid contracts due by January 31, 2024, and extended the date to March 27, 2024. # Note 4

Finally, The abutter notifications and hearings for the Falmouth onshore cable route are nearing two years old. The Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board more than likely will require new notifications to prevent a defective notice of hearing. # Note 5

The EFSB requirements are to publish a proposal of the project in two newspapers, at town hall, and mail a notice to all property owners on each side of the cable route and around the proposed high voltage converter station. In addition notifications to any alternate locations or beach community cable landing locations.
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Notes to document this news:

Note # 1 Falmouth Noise Warnings Letter Before Wind Turbine Installations August 3, 2010
https://www.windaction.org/posts/41357-vestas-raises-concerns-about-turbine-noise-letter#.Ve9oyhFVikp

Note # 2 Old Offshore Wind Falmouth Proposal Falmouth 1200 Megawatts June 8, 2022
https://www.falmouthma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12338/Mayflower-Forum---Mayflower-Pres-2-06082022

Note # 3 Portsmouth RI OK Wind I & II Cable Route All 2400 Megawatts To Brayton Point January 18, 2024
https://www.portsmouthri.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5843/Updated-Marked-Host-Community-Agreement

Note # 4 Massachusetts Delays Offshore Wind Bids From January 31, 2024, to March 27, 2024
https://newbedfordlight.org/new-deadline-means-more-offshore-wind-delays/

Note # 5 Massachusetts EFSB abutter notification process
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/efsb-and-dpu-siting-processEFSB and DPU Siting Process

Note # Information - All 2400 megawatts to Brayton Point - Falmouth remains an option later
https://southcoastwind.com/southcoast-wind-1/