Offshore Wind Farm Under Cnstruction. DJ Mattaar / Shutterstock
The developer of the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States is moving forward with plans for two additional projects the coast of Massachusetts.
Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), announced Monday it has submitted two proposals in response to the state’s Request for Proposals.
Vineyard Wind currently has 1,604 MW of offshore wind energy capacity under development for Massachusetts and Connecticut with its Vineyard Wind 1 and Park City Wind projects.
The two “Commonwealth Wind” proposals would offer options of approximately 800 megawatts (MW) and 1,200 MW.
“Just one day after announcing that Vineyard Wind has brought the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind farm to financial close, we are incredibly proud to submit our ‘Commonwealth Wind’ proposals,” said Lars T. Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind. “We have used all of our experience with our existing portfolio to put together an incredibly strong proposal that, if selected, will ensure Massachusetts benefits significantly from its first-mover status in pioneering offshore wind at scale in the U.S.”
Vineyard Wind last week announced the closing of $2.3 billion in financing, the final piece in the puzzle before kicking off construction on Vineyard Wind 1, which was granted federal approval in May. The wind farm, located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, will consist of an array of 62 wind turbines spaced 1 nautical miles apart and generate 800 megawatts of electricity annually, enough to power over 400,000 homes.
Construction will begin onshore in Barnstable, Massachusetts, later this year, with offshore work starting in 2022. The project is expected to begin delivering power in 2023.
Park City Wind, which is still in the planning and approval phase, is a proposed 804 MW wind farm planned for 23 miles off the coast of Massachusetts and connected to the Connecticut power grid.
Commonwealth Wind will be developed in an area just south of Vineyard Wind 1 and Park City Wind projects, adhering to the 1 x 1 nautical mile spacing endorsed by the United States Coast Guard as the preferred layout for safety and navigation.
“We have deliberately named our proposals ‘Commonwealth Wind’ to underline the broad benefit of affordable energy to the entire Commonwealth as well as the significant economic benefits that will be delivered to multiple regions of Massachusetts,” added Pedersen.
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