A Rhode Island nonprofit known for its seaside mansions is suing the federal government over the permitting process for offshore wind energy projects off Martha’s Vineyard. 

The Preservation Society of Newport County filed a lawsuit in a D.C. federal court earlier this month against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), saying the presence of hundreds of wind turbines off the New England coast will ruin the views of the ocean from several of its historic coastal properties. 

The society claims that BOEM failed to adequately consider the economic impacts to historic properties when approving the South Fork Wind project and during the reviews of other wind farms. The nonprofit owns several grand estates such as the Breakers mansion along the Rhode Island coast and asserts BOEM bowed to political pressure in speedily greenlighting turbines.

“Despite acknowledging the industrialized wind farms’ adverse impacts, BOEM has succumbed to intense political pressure to conduct a sham consulting process with numerous skipped steps and foregone conclusions, shirking its responsibility to the public and allowing corporate energy developers to set the terms for permitting,” the society wrote in its Nov. 22 appeal.

The lawsuit is one of several that have been lobbed at the nascent offshore wind energy projects in the U.S. 

Vineyard Wind, the 62-turbine project under construction off the Island’s south shore, has successfully fended off several challenges.

The newest suit largely revolves around the South Fork Wind approval process, but the preservation society also says that Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, two other projects planned for the waters off the Vineyard, will all “inflict severe and long-lasting effects” on the heritage and tourism-driven economy of Newport.

“South Fork’s visual effects, along with those of its related projects, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, are expected to harm the integrity of historic properties by creating an industrialized viewshed that will despoil pristine views of the Atlantic Ocean,” the nonprofit wrote.

A BOEM spokesperson declined to comment on the case, citing the pending litigation.

In the 16-page complaint, the society contends that BOEM broke the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act when it approved South Fork Wind and did not consider the cumulative impacts of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind.

All three are being developed by Orsted, a Danish energy company. South Fork Wind, a 12-turbine farm, is currently under construction in the waters south of the Vineyard and Block Island and east of Long Island. 

Revolution Wind received federal approvals in August, and is one of the closest projects to Aquinnah. 

The project plans to erect 65 turbines about 14 miles away from the Gay Head Cliffs. Because some turbines would be in view of several cultural sites in the up-Island town, Aquinnah is expecting to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in mitigation funds. 

Earlier this year, the town negotiated commitments from wind developers for about $825,000 for the Gay Head Lighthouse and about $500,000 for improvements at Aquinnah circle. 

Neither Revolution Wind nor South Fork Wind are planning to bring electricity into Massachusetts.