State Taking Falmouth Zoning Regulations For Offshore Wind

State Taking Falmouth Zoning Regulations For Offshore Wind

The Massachusetts House stopped the climate bill from advancing in the chamber for the second time in less than a week. 10/28/24

The house will meet again next Wednesday.

The Climate Bill takes land use takes decision-making away from municipal governments.

Our Massachusetts state representatives are being asked to preempt local zoning regulations in favor of offshore wind companies.

Federal and state officials along with wind contractors want to place 1200 megawatt buried cables through the Town of Falmouth. The electric substation will be a High Voltage Direct Current to Alternating Current Converter Station on the Falmouth aquifer. (drinking water)

The power is almost double the output of the old 680-megawatt Pilgrim Nuclear Plant and it's in the street outside your front door or a power plant next door.

On June 8, 2022, almost 200 people attended the onshore wind meeting held at the Lawrence School Auditorium with 90 percent against the project. Note! (The reason state officials need to bypass town regulations.)

On December 19, 2022, the Falmouth Select Board voted to deny offshore wind access to town property to study landfall sites for electric cables connecting its proposed offshore wind project to the electrical grid.

April 10, 2023, the Falmouth Town Meeting voted to back the Falmouth Select Board's decision to deny offshore wind contractors access to town property.

Falmouth has wind turbine zoning regulations approved by the town meeting and the attorney general called home rule in the Massachusetts constitution.