One of the Atlantic Ocean’s most majestic and most endangered species will be provided new protections under an unprecedented agreement between three environmental groups and Vineyard Wind. The offshore wind developer, which has proposed a large-scale offshore wind project 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, agreed to protect the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale during the construction and operation of the project, which will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind facility in the U.S. (More information on the project area can be viewed here.)

To borrow my colleague Anne Reynold’s sentiments regarding the state of clean energy, in NY these days following Governor Cuomo’s State of the State and Budget Address, I’m not only feeling pretty good, I’m speechless. Thankfully that won’t stop me from writing about it. 

As part of his progressive agenda, the Governor laid out his Green New Deal for NY and it was not only progressive, but breathtaking. He upped NY’s existing renewable energy standard for electricity to 70% by 2030 (it was 50%), he quadrupled NY’s goal for offshore wind by calling for 9,000 MW of capacity by 2035 and he called for the creation of a Climate Change Council to chart the pathway to economy-wide carbon neutrality. All three are really positive wins for clean energy.

What a difference a few years and visionary leadership can make. This morning, developers finished 32 rounds of bidding on areas of federal waters off the coast of Massachusetts designated for offshore wind power development. The three areas drew a collective total of just over $405 million. Moving from west to east, the winning bidders are Equinor Wind, Mayflower Wind Energy, and Vineyard Wind, with bids of $135 million, $135 million, and $135.1 million, respectively.