Bay State Wind redesigns offshore wind project to support fishermen

In response to feedback from fishermen and community members, Bay State Wind has revised the turbine layout pattern for its Massachusetts offshore wind project.

The new plan realigns the layout so that the turbines are located in rows running east to west, the preferred orientation for fishing, according to the developer. The updated layout also includes an average of one nautical mile between turbine rows to create distinct fishing corridors while continuing to optimize wind energy production.

According to Bay State Wind, feedback from the local fishing community indicated that the irregular pattern of the previous plan could make fishing in and transiting through the wind farm area difficult, especially in bad weather or during towing or setting gear.

Bay State Wind is a partnership between Ørsted and Eversource. It submitted a proposal for a 1000 MW offshore wind farm with a 55 MW storage component to the Massachussets Clean Energy Request for Proposals in December, but was not awarded capacity. At the time, Ørsted announced that the company intends to continue progressing the project through upcoming tenders in the New England region of north-east USA and New York.