Two attempts to sink the first major offshore wind project in the country over its impact to an endangered whale were shot down this week by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Solar developer Thomas Melone of Connecticut and a coalition of coastal residents in Massachusetts had separately sought to block the 62-turbine Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. They argued that federal agencies did not address how offshore wind farm construction could threaten the endangered North American right whale population when issuing key permits.
Their appeals are part of a flurry of lawsuits that have sought, and so far failed, to bring down major offshore renewable projects that are keystones in President Joe Biden’s climate policy.
In a Thursday judgment, the three-judge panel said Melone’s argument that NOAA Fisheries erred in granting Vineyard Wind a permit to harass whales during pile-driving activities was “without merit.”
