Biden administration approves enormous wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard as part of bid to drastically cut emissions by 2030

President Joe Biden's administration announced Tuesday their approval of another large offshore wind project off of the coast of Martha's Vineyard, despite ongoing legal battles to block similar projects. 

The Interior Department approved the New England Wind Project, a planned commercial off-shore project roughly 20 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard and 24 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The planned wind farm would include up to 129 wind turbines off of the coast of the island, the location of some of the wealthiest homes in the United States.

U.S. President Joe Biden points to a wind turbine size comparison chart during a meeting about the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with workers while visiting CS Wind

'The New England Wind project will help lower consumer costs, combat climate change, create jobs to support families, and ensure economic opportunities are accessible to all communities,' Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said celebrating the news in a statement. 

 Haaland pointedly noted that former President Donald Trump's administration had delayed the production of offshore wind energy. 

Trump opposes wind turbines, repeatedly mocking them  for destroying the environment, killing birds and whales,  and ruining the views of coastal homes. 

'Put the windmills up and watch the value of your house — if you’re in sight of a windmill, watch the value of your house go down by 65 percent,' Trump said during a speech in 2019. 

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly condemns wind turbines for killing birds and whales

The turbines of America's first offshore wind farm are seen from a tour boat off the coast of Block Island, R.I.

While environmental activists and Democratic political figures celebrate wind farms as an important step forward in combatting climate change, local fishermen protest that the massive construction projects will disrupt the behavior of marine animals and contribute to the death of fish and whales. 

Fishing groups and area landowners filed a series of lawsuits in 2023 to block an earlier approved wind project off of the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Three of the lawsuits were dismissed in a district court, with appeals from the plaintiffs underway.

The Vineyard wind project officially started sending power from one operating turbine in January 2024, with plans to ultimately get 62 wind turbines operational.

The approved projects would massively increase construction of off-shore wind farms in the region.  

The Biden administration is siding with wind turbine projects, approving proposals at a rapid pace with the goal of getting 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind power flowing into the grid by 2030.