April 11, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — In what could be the final weeks before Massachusetts awards its first offshore wind contract, Bay State Wind has announced more than $2 million in grants it would provide for fisheries research and whale protection, contingent upon Bay State Wind winning a contract.
The grants include:
• $1 million for a marine science grant program to be administered by Bay State Wind. It would fund research in the Bay State Wind lease area designed to address specific questions and concerns raised by the fishing industry.
• $500,000 to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for a multi-year grant to develop advanced whale detection systems.
• $250,000 each to the New England Aquarium right whale research project and the Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts to prevent gear entanglement of the North Atlantic right whale.
The deadline for the state and electric companies to announce one or more winners of offshore wind contracts is April 23, but the decision could be delayed, State House News Service reported last week.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times