The offshore wind farm could generate enough energy to power half a million homes in the state
Image: Mayflower Wind to build offshore wind farm in US. Photo: Courtesy of Nicholas Doherty/Unsplash.
Massachusetts has selected Mayflower Wind Energy, a joint venture of Shell New Energies US and EDPR Offshore North America, for the supply of 804MW offshore wind capacity.
Energy generated from the offshore wind farm could be enough to power half a million homes in the state. The selection of Mayflower Wind is seen as an important step in implementing the Commonwealth’s offshore wind development procurement process.
The offshore wind project could be located more than 32km south of Nantucket with the start-up in 2025.
The wind farm could offer economic benefits such as long-term price being below $84.23/MWh. The facility’s benefits also include a rate reduction of $3.7bn during the term of the contract.
Mayflower Wind president John Hartnett said: “Mayflower Wind is proud to have been selected to provide low cost renewable energy to Massachusetts.
“Development of the Mayflower Wind project will contribute to the building of an offshore supply chain on the South Coast and across the Commonwealth, helping to launch a new clean, safe and innovative sector of our economy. We look forward to working with all of our stakeholders to ensure a safe and successful project.”
Mayflower Wind project could create 10,000 jobs in Massachusetts
The offshore wind project is expected to create 10,000 jobs in Massachusetts including both offshore jobs and onshore opportunities and avoid nearly 1.7 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to removing 350,000 cars off the road, annually.
The joint venture company said that it has offered the same pricing solution to Connecticut under its current procurement process for offshore wind.
Currently, Mayflower Wind is developing an offshore wind lease area with the potential to supply up to 1.6GW of wind energy to the electricity customers of New England.
The company draws on the experience of its parent companies in operating 6.3GW of onshore wind in the US and ongoing development and construction of 2.7GW of offshore wind projects in France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Scotland.