MA - Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology
An Evaluation from Wind to Whales
The transition to renewable energy has spurred many efforts to scale up the U.S. portfolio of efficient clean energy resources, including the development of offshore wind farms. The Nantucket Shoals region off the coast of Massachusetts is the first large scale wind farm installation under development in U.S. waters.
To ensure Nantucket Shoals region offshore wind energy installations are being planned, constructed, and developed in an environmentally responsible way, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) asked the National Academies to evaluate the potential for offshore wind farms in the Nantucket Shoals region to affect oceanic physical processes, and, in turn, how those hydrodynamic alterations might affect local to regional ecosystems. Of particular interest to BOEM are the potential effects of hydrodynamic changes on zooplankton productivity and aggregations, which may affect foraging for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
This report found the impacts of offshore wind projects on the North Atlantic right whale and the availability of their prey in the Nantucket Shoals region will likely be difficult to distinguish from the significant impacts of climate change and other influences on the ecosystem. Further study and monitoring of the oceanography and ecology of the Nantucket Shoals region is needed to fully understand the impact of future wind farms. This report recommends the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others should promote observational studies and modeling that will advance understanding of potential hydrodynamic effects and their consequent impacts on ecology in the Nantucket Shoals region during all phases of wind energy development.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Potential Hydrodynamic Impacts of Offshore Wind Energy on Nantucket Shoals Regional Ecology: An Evaluation from Wind to Whales. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27154.
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Preface to the Report
The U.S. federal government has set a target of 80 percent renewable energy generation
by 2030 and 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035. Realizing this goal will require a
portfolio of renewable energy sources, one of which is development of a robust offshore wind
energy industry in U.S. coastal waters to meet the U.S. target of 30 gigawatts of energy from
offshore wind by 2030. Two offshore wind energy farms, with a total of seven wind turbine
generators, now operate on the continental shelf of the U.S. East Coast. Plans are underway to
expand the number of wind farms in this region by about a factor of 10 and the number of
turbines by about two orders of magnitude. The scale of the anticipated expansion of the U.S.
offshore wind energy industry has many implications for the coastal environment, one of which
is impacts on the oceanography and ecology of the region within and surrounding the wind
energy installations.
Beginning in 2009, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) became
responsible for offshore renewable energy (including wind) development in federal waters. The
Department of the Interior announced at that time the final regulations for the Outer Continental
Shelf Renewable Energy Program, as authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. These
regulations, in addition to the National Environmental Policy Act, provide the regulatory
framework for the activities supporting the production and transmission of offshore renewable
energy.
The Nantucket Shoals region of the U.S. East Coast continental shelf has been designated
as a site for expansion of offshore wind energy capability. This region is characterized by
complex hydrodynamics and ecology. The hydrodynamics of this region result from processes at
spatial scales of variability that extend from oceanic (Gulf Stream warm core rings) to local
(tidal mixing) and timescales of seasonal (stratification) to decadal. The ecology of the region is
unique in that it supports aggregations of zooplankton that provide prey for the endangered North
Atlantic right whales that migrate to the region to forage.
Modeling studies from the North Sea suggest that offshore wind farms can modify the
local circulation and ecology with impacts that extend beyond the wind farm region. The extent
to which wind energy farms may have similar effects on the hydrodynamics and ecology of the
Nantucket Shoals region is of concern because of potential impacts on zooplankton–right whale
interactions, a trophic connection not considered in current studies. As such, the charge to this
committee was to assess the current state of understanding and the capability to detect impacts of
offshore wind farms on the hydrodynamics and ecology of the Nantucket Shoals region.
Support for developing this report was provided by BOEM, and the committee gratefully
acknowledges this support. The committee began its work by convening an open community
webinar to introduce the committee and its tasks. This was followed by two public meetings to
gather information about the current state of knowledge of environmental and ecological aspects
of offshore wind energy development and the Nantucket Shoals region. Many individuals
generously provided their expertise and time for the public meetings, which is much appreciated
given the short notice provided for participating in the meetings. The committee extends its
thanks to participants from the federal government, research institutions, private industry, and
other stakeholder groups who participated in the public meetings, provided background
information, and openly engaged in discussions.
The committee extends its wholehearted appreciation to the National Academies’ staff
for providing the organization, support, and direction that made this report possible. The
completion of this report in 4 months would not have been possible without the superb efforts of
the study director Kelly Oskvig and program assistant Safah Wyne. Their gentle and ongoing
guidance is much appreciated.
Offshore wind energy is integral to the future of renewable energy sources. Development
of this capability must be such that it preserves the marine environment and its ecosystems and
also recognizes changes and variability imposed by climate change. It is the committee’s hope
that the recommendations in this report be used to stimulate future studies that can answer the
questions important for responsible development of offshore wind in the Nantucket Shoals
region and elsewhere.
Eileen Hofmann, Chair
Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Modeling and Implications for Offshore Wind Development:
Nantucket Shoals
