Federal Court Rejects Endangered Species Challenge To The Vineyard Wind Project

A major US offshore wind farm scored a significant legal victory as a federal judge dismissed an environmentalist group's challenge to the Vineyard Wind project. This ruling is illustrative of the myriad legal challenges faced by offshore renewable energy projects.

In Nantucket Residents Against Turbines and Valerie Oliver v. U.S Bureau of Energy Management et. al.¹ a citizen's group brought an action against the Bureau of Energy Management ("BOEM") and other federal agencies contending that BOEM's decision to approve the Vineyard Wind Project, an offshore wind farm off of Martha's Vineyard, was based on an inadequate environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act² ("NEPA") and the Endangered Species Act³ ("ESA") and the Administrative Procedure Act.⁴ The citizen group focused on the Vineyard Wind project's impact on the North Atlantic right whale, which is listed as endangered under the ESA.