Mayflower Wind says it wants to be a part of the community. Here's how it's doing that.

Audrey Cooney, The Herald News
·3 min read
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FALL RIVER — Mayflower Wind announced $377,000 in grants and donations to three area non-profits as the project to develop wind turbines off the nearby coast moves forward.

“We want to be part of this community, we want to work with all of you and do the best for this community and other communities on the SouthCoast,” said Michael Brown, Mayflower Wind’s CEO.

Brown was speaking at a forum hosted on Thursday at the Maritime Museum on Water Street for local organizations that are working with the wind farm project. Mayflower Wind is developing a wind turbine farm about 20 nautical miles south of the western end of Nantucket. The power from that project is expected to connect the wind-generated electricity to the regional grid at Brayton Point in Somerset, formerly the site of the largest coal-powered energy plant in Massachusetts.

A map of Mayflower Wind's proposed project shows its location in the Atlantic Ocean, with connections to Brayton Point in Somerset.
A map of Mayflower Wind's proposed project shows its location in the Atlantic Ocean, with connections to Brayton Point in Somerset.

Brown said the war in Ukraine, which has contributed to a sharp increase in fuel prices, means that building wind turbines isn’t just about moving toward renewable energy anymore. It’s also a key to developing energy infrastructure that isn’t disrupted by international events.

“Energy security is going to be a really important thing now,” he said.

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And, the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of communities working together toward a common goal. He referenced the saying “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

“Mayflower wants to be that rising tide and we want to lift everybody up,” he said. “We want to understand what you want and we want to give it to you.”

Three local organizations will receive grants, part directly from Mayflower and part from the SouthCoast Community Foundation’s Mayflower Fund, a $42.5 million fund that Mayflower created last year aimed at building “inclusive, equitable, and diverse employment, training, and supply chain opportunities related to the offshore wind industry in the Southeastern Massachusetts region.”

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Browning the Green Space, a Boston nonprofit that works throughout New England to encourage Black and brown people to participate in and help lead the clean energy sector, will receive $252,000. This will go toward a boot camp aimed at helping people of color take the first steps toward running their own contracting businesses.

“Small businesses led by founders/owners of color tend to hire more employees of color, but they can only do so when they have contracts and the stability that those contracts bring to allow them to scale and grow,” said Kerry Bowie, the group’s president and executive director.

The South Coast LGBTQ+ Network received $100,000 in grant money, which they put toward replacing the roof of their LGBT+ community center in New Bedford.

“There’s nothing like this in the state,” Andy Pollack, the organization’s president, said about the center. “We’re trying to create a healthy alternative (to socializing exclusively in bars).

Mayflower Wind has also made a $25,000 donation to Battleship Cove to help fund the restoration project aboard the USS Massachusetts. This year, the World War II battleship has undergone its most extensive repair and restoration project since the 1990s.

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Audrey Cooney can be reached at acooney@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Mayflower Wind gives funding to three area non-profits