The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of Beacon Wind’s proposal to test suction bucket foundations on its lease area offshore Massachusetts. Based on the analysis in the environmental assessment, BOEM determined that the proposed testing will not cause significant impacts to environmental resources. Suction bucket foundations are an alternative foundation type that allow for installation of turbines without the need for pile driving.

BOEM analyzed Beacon Wind’s proposal to conduct 35 deployments and removals of a single suction bucket foundation at 26 locations within its lease area. Beacon Wind’s objective is to gather information to support the engineering design of wind turbine and offshore substation foundations that would potentially be installed for a future offshore wind project. Use of this new technology could minimize underwater noise from installation and allow for more flexibility around supply chain constraints.

The proposed Beacon Wind project is located approximately 17 nautical miles (nm) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and approximately 52 nm east of Montauk, New York. Beacon Wind’s future project proposal includes construction and operation of two wind energy facilities (Beacon Wind 1 and Beacon Wind 2) with a total capacity of at least 2,430 megawatts of clean, renewable wind energy, enough to power over 850,000 homes each year.

The “Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Final Environmental Assessment for Additional Site Assessment Activities on Beacon Wind, LLC’s Renewable Energy Lease OCS-A 0520” will publish in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024.

More information about the Beacon Wind project and BOEM’s environmental review process can be found on BOEM’s website.