As per the agreement, Crowley Maritime will purchase the 42 acres surrounding Salem Harbor Station, owned currently by a subsidiary of Footprint Power
Salem Harbor to be transformed into an offshore wind port. (Credit: Crowley)
Vineyard Wind has entered into a public-private partnership with the City of Salem in Massachusetts, US, and Crowley Maritime to transform Salem Harbor as an offshore wind port.
The agreement signed by the parties in this connection is subject to Vineyard Wind winning an award from the Massachusetts state. Presently, the state is evaluating bids for offshore wind procurement.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture (JV) between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The offshore wind development company had recently achieved a financial close for the 800MW Vineyard Wind 1 project, off the Massachusetts coast.
The Salem Harbor transformation project is part of the Commonwealth Wind proposal, under which Vineyard Wind proposes options of around 800MW and 1.2GW of new offshore wind capacities in the state.
Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen said: “As offshore wind continues to expand, new purpose-built ports will be key to the success of this industry. By constructing the nation’s first purpose-built offshore wind port in New Bedford, Massachusetts has been leading the way.
“With a new offshore wind port in Salem, the Commonwealth can ensure that it is ready to face the demands of a rapidly growing industry.”
As per the terms of the proposed agreement, Crowley Maritime will buy the 42 acres surrounding Salem Harbor Station, that is owned currently by a subsidiary of Footprint Power. The purchase will be made by its New Energy subsidiary Crowley Wind Services.
Crowley Maritime will be the long-term offshore wind port operator for the Salem Harbor site.
Vineyard Wind’s owners will be the port’s anchor tenants. Avangrid Renewables and CIP will use the property for the Commonwealth Wind project along with other projects in the JV’s portfolio.
The site will be used for turbine assembly and staging activities, and storage and assembling of components such as blades, tower sections, and nacelles before they are used for offshore installation.
Crowley Maritime New Energy vice president Jeff Andreini said: “This partnership reinforces Crowley’s position as a total lifecycle service provider in the offshore wind sector.
“We look forward to working with Vineyard Wind and the City of Salem and providing the highest level of service in order to make Salem Harbor a leading provider in the offshore wind supply chain.”
The parties expect to generate up to 400 full time equivalent (FTE) job years during the port revitalisation. This will be followed by another 500 FTEs over the first five years of operation for construction and staging for wind projects and also day-to-day port operations, totalling 900 FTE job years.