Vineyard Wind Project Delivers First Offshore Wind Power to New England

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid, Inc. have announced the successful delivery of the first power from the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project to the New England grid.

The initial commissioning process saw one turbine generating approximately five megawatts of power on Tuesday, with further testing scheduled both on and offshore in the coming weeks. The project aims to have all five turbines operating at full capacity by early 2024.

Located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, the Vineyard Wind project interconnects with the New England grid in Barnstable using underground cables that connect to a substation further inland on Cape Cod. Once completed, the project will feature 62 wind turbines generating a total of 806 megawatts (MW), providing electricity to more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts. The turbines used in the project—13 MW GE Haliade-X turbines—rank among the largest in the world.

CIP and Avangrid jointly own Vineyard Wind 1. Avangrid, in collaboration with Vineyard Offshore, CIP’s affiliate development company, is responsible for the project’s development and construction.

“This truly is a milestone for offshore wind and the entire renewable industry in North America,” said Tim Evans, Partner at CIP and Head of North America. “By delivering first power, we have broken new ground and shown a viable path forward with power that is renewable, locally produced, and affordable.”

Construction of Vineyard Wind kicked off in late 2022, with the project achieving a significant milestone in June with the first “steel-in-the-water” and completing the nation’s first offshore substation in July.

The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal serves as the construction hub for the project. Vineyard Wind signed the first Project Labor Agreement (PLA) in July 2021, ensuring the creation of 500 union jobs. Last month, project shareholders announced that Vineyard Wind 1 has exceeded its commitment under the PLA, creating 937 union jobs during two years of construction.

Over the first 20 years of operation, the project is expected to save customers $1.4 billion and reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons annually, equivalent to removing 325,000 cars from the road each year.

Vineyard Wind previously made history in May 2021 by becoming the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S. to receive federal approval.

With the delivery of the first power, Vineyard Wind joins South Fork Wind as the first commercial-scale offshore wind farms to begin powering up. South Fork Wind, which delivered its first power in December, is a partnership between Ørsted and Eversource and is expected to generate around 130 megawatts of renewable energy, providing enough power for approximately 70,000 homes on Long Island.

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