New England Wind 1 and 2 are the proposals to develop offshore renewable wind energy projects in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Areas OCS-A 0534 and OCS-A 0561 along with associated offshore and onshore cabling, onshore substations, and onshore operations and maintenance (O&M) facilities. Avangrid Power, LLC will be responsible for the construction, operation, and decommissioning of New England Wind 1 and 2. 

The New England Wind 1 project will be located in Lease Area OCS-A 0534 and New England Wind 2 will occupy Lease Area OCS-A 0561. Four or five offshore export cables (two for New England Wind 1 and two or three for New England Wind 2) will transmit electricity generated by the WTGs to onshore transmission systems in the Town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, unless technical, logistical, grid interconnection, or other unforeseen issues arise. 

Recreational and commercial fishing are allowed within the lease areas. The only restrictions on vessels fishing in, or transiting through, the lease area will be a 500-meter safety zone around active construction or maintenance. You can sign up to receive email or text alerts related to offshore vessel activity in the lease areas and along the export cable corridors on this web page. You can also reach out to Fisheries Liaison, Lela Schlenker, at lela.schlenker@avangrid.com or 617-564-2108. 

Structures in the lease areas, including wind turbine generators (WTG) and electrical service platforms (ESP), will be spaced approximately 1 nautical mile apart in a north-south, east-west square grid pattern.  

Structures on the periphery of the lease areas will be visible on Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) and all structures will be labeled on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) navigational charts. Uniform numbering and labeling of structures will be consistent across Massachusetts and Rhode Island lease areas to provide locations within the lease areas.  

Avangrid has adopted a standard gear loss/damage claims form that was developed through coordination with New England Wind Fisheries Representatives (FRs), Fisheries Liaisons (FLs), and other developers. The form contains a chart showing the location of all the projects within the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area (MA WEA) and the contact information for each projects’ FL. This form, which has also been adopted by Equinor, SouthCoast Wind, and Vineyard Wind 1, is provided online on this web page.

You can sign up to receive email or text alerts related to offshore vessel activity in the lease areas and along the export cable corridors on this web page. You can also reach out to Fisheries Liaison, Lela Schlenker, at lela.schlenker@avangrid.com or 617-564-2108.

FLs are employed by Avangrid and are responsible for the overall implementation of the Fisheries Communication Plan for New England Wind 1 and 2 and facilitating communication with the fishing industry. The FL facilitates the work of the Fisheries Representatives (FRs) by serving as a knowledgeable point of contact to which the FRs can efficiently and effectively communicate. 

FRs are active recreational or commercial fishermen or groups representing active fishermen whose region, fishery, state, or sector is relevant to New England Wind 1 and 2. FRs do not work on behalf of Avangrid but represent a particular fishing community. FRs are responsible for communicating fisheries concerns, issues, and other input to Avangrid and the FLs. 

OFLs are experienced fishermen or maritime users employed to assist vessel captains with communication and document fishing gear encountered offshore to help avoid fishing vessel and gear interactions. OFLs serve an important function and are tasked with extending the role of the Project’s fisheries communications offshore so that there is effective communication on site and in real time. 

Scout vessels work in cooperation with OFLs to complete the communication cycle by working alongside and ahead of planned survey operations, reporting fishing activity back to the survey vessel, and helping to communicate with fishing vessels active in the area. This fishermen-based communication approach has resulted in successful coordination between the Projects’ offshore survey efforts and local fishermen. 

Avangrid recognizes the importance of and prioritizes collaborative science opportunities. Regionally focused collaborative research is the best approach to further understanding of the offshore environment and potential effects of offshore wind development. You can learn more about the Fisheries Science Program in the Fisheries Communication Plan and on this web page. Additionally, Avangrid’s Fisheries Monitoring Plan will begin collecting data on commercially and recreationally important fish and invertebrate species two years before construction begins and will continue through construction and for three years post-construction. Reports from fisheries monitoring research will be available on our website.   

For more information related to fishing, fisheries policy, or fisheries science for Avangrid’s New England Wind 1 and 2 projects please reach out to the Fisheries Liaison, Lela Schlenker, at lela.schlenker@avangrid.com or 617-564-2108.