The federal government has again delayed a final environmental study for Vineyard Wind’s pioneering US large-scale offshore wind project, a move that pushes back issuance of a potential construction permit for the $3bn project by about a month.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) had scheduled release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), a crucial step to permitting the fully contracted 800MW Vineyard Wind 1 array off the southern coast of Massachusetts, for last week.