Congressman Keating Releases Statement On Vineyard Wind Approval

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — Congressman Bill Keating, who represents New Bedford, Cape Cod, and the Islands, released a statement Tuesday in response to the Biden Administration's final approval of the Vineyard Wind project, the nation's first large-scale offshore wind farm.

Keating, who has been a leader in Congress in support of the Vineyard Wind project and is the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee's Energy and the Environment Subcommittee, congratulated the project leaders on their success.

"What a difference six months makes," said Keating. "We have worked so hard to get to this point and I applaud Vineyard Wind for maintaining their commitment to the region in the face of challenge after challenge from the prior Administration."

"Today's announcement cements that Southeastern Massachusetts, with he Port of New Bedford, is the undisputed national leader in the offshore wind industry," he continued. "This decision means we will have good, clean energy jobs coming to our shores and a new generation of economic growth that reduces our carbon footprint."

Vineyard Wind, located approximately 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, will have a generating capacity of 800 megawatts and provide enough clean electricity to power over 400,000 homes. The $2.8 billion project is expected to reduce electricity rates by $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.68 million metric tons annually.

More information about the project can be found here.