Vineyard Wind’s proposed 800MW offshore wind farm in the US state of Massachusetts has been selected as the winner of the state’s tender for offshore wind energy projects.
Image: Vineyard Wind closes in towards developing an 800MW offshore wind farm in Massachusetts. Photo: courtesy of Vineyard Wind.
As a result, Vineyard Wind will be entering into a contract negotiation phase with the Massachusetts Electric Distribution Companies (EDCs), including a power purchase agreement (PPA) associated with the project.
The proposed offshore wind farm will be built some 8kms south of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.
In March 2017, Avangrid, a subsidiary of Iberdrola became a joint owner in Vineyard Wind with a stake of 50% and is partnered by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), which holds a stake of 50% through funds managed by it.
Avangrid Renewables president and CEO Laura Beane said: “Vineyard Wind’s partners are eager to deliver an offshore wind project that will provide the Commonwealth with abundant clean energy resources for decades to come.
“Today’s announcement serves to further illustrate the AVANGRID companies’ commitment to deliver value and opportunity in a region that is determined to address complex energy challenges through significant investments in clean energy infrastructure.”
Vineyard Wind is expecting to begin operations at the offshore wind farm by late 2021. Following its commissioning, the offshore wind farm is expected to offset Massachusetts’ carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tons annually, which is equivalent of taking off 325,000 cars from the state roads.
CIP senior partner Torsten Lodberg Smed said: “CIP is committed to continue to move forward with our plan to make Vineyard Wind the first operational large-scale offshore wind project in the United States.
“Backed by the proven global leadership of our joint venture partners in the global and domestic offshore wind sector across three continents, our team will deliver a utility-scale offshore wind project that will stimulate tremendous economic development opportunity on Cape Cod, the Islands and the South Coast.”
In another part of the world, CIP’s portfolio of Taiwanese offshore wind development projects was allocated 600MW for the projects Changfang and Xidao by the Bureau of Energy in Taiwan. Along with this, the company was also allocated 300MW for Site 29, which it will develop with its partners China Steel and DGA.