Massachusetts’ Vineyard Wind project gets final federal approval
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project, located off the coast of Massachusetts.
This is a major step for the project as it was the final federal regulatory hurdle it had to clear. With the approval, construction on Vineyard Wind 1, an 800-megawatt project, can begin. This will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S.
“We are very excited and proud to be part of the birth of an incredibly important new industry for the U.S. Offshore wind is a key part of America’s clean energy future, and Vineyard Wind 1 is a major step forward to the clean and connected future we envision and work toward every day,” Dennis Arriola, CEO of Avangrid, the company that owns Vineyard Wind, said. “We appreciate the thorough review by BOEM as well as the considerable input from stakeholders, including 33,000 public comments and hundreds of hours of public hearings.”
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Avangrid, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). Vineyard Wind 1 will be located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. It will provide enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts. It will reduce electricity rates by $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year.
“Today’s Record of Decision is not about the start of a single project, but the launch of a new industry,” Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen said. “Receiving this final major federal approval means the jobs, economic benefits, and clean energy revolution associated with the Vineyard Wind 1 project can finally come to fruition. It’s been a long road to get to this point, but ultimately, we are reaching the end of this process with the strongest possible project. I want to thank the Biden Administration, Secretaries Haaland and Raimondo, and BOEM for their efforts in finalizing the review of this project.”
Construction will begin this year, with the project expected to be operational in 2023.
“Massachusetts should be proud that this decision launches the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project here on the Commonwealth’s shores,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said. “This groundbreaking project will produce affordable, renewable energy, create jobs, and prove Massachusetts developed a successful model for developing offshore wind energy.”
Vineyard Wind has been through an exhaustive public review process since 2017, one that generated more than 30,000 public comments.
“This is a historic day for clean energy and for our country that has been over a decade in the making. Today we launch a brand-new source of home-grown energy for Americans. Vineyard Wind is at last cleared to deliver clean power to Massachusetts and jobs and investments for the region. The Biden-Harris Administration, including the many talented career staff at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and other federal agencies who reviewed this project, deserve great credit for their years of work to enable this clean energy resource to finally come to America’s shores,” Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said.
The project includes the world’s most powerful wind turbine, the GE Haliade-X, with a capacity of 13 megawatts (MW). The larger turbine allows the project to reduce the total number of turbines from 108 to 62 while still delivering a total capacity of 800 MW. The turbines will be spaced one nautical mile apart from each other.
Avangrid Renewables is also a partner on Park City Wind, an 804 MW project that will serve the state of Connecticut with up to 3,500 MW of wind energy. Further, it is developing Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind, which will deliver up to 2,500 MW of clean energy to Virginia and North Carolina.
