Offshore Vineyard Wind Project Delivers First Power to New England

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Power from the Vineyard Wind project was delivered to the New England grid for the first time on Tuesday, Avangrid Incorporated (NYSE:AGR) (Orange, Connecticut) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) (Copenhagen, Denmark) said Wednesday.

Located about 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, one turbine delivered about 5 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday night, the companies said, as part of the initial commissioning process. Additional testing is expected to take place in the coming weeks. The project developers expect to have five turbines operating at full capacity early in 2024.

The project missed its goal of being operational by the end of 2023.

Power from the project's interconnects to the New England grid in Barnstable, Massachusetts, was transmitted by underground cables that connect to a substation further inland on Cape Cod. Once completed, the project will have 62 wind turbines to generate 806 MW, enough to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts. Avangrid will assume responsibility as the operations and maintenance services provider for the offshore windfarm, once the project begins commercial operations.

In a press release, Avangrid Chief Executive Officer Pedro Azagra said that "2023 was a historic year for offshore wind defined by steel in the water and people at work. Today, we begin a new chapter and welcome 2024 by delivering the first clean offshore wind power to the grid in Massachusetts."

"For the first time we have power flowing to the American consumers from a commercial-scale wind project, which marks the dawn of a new era for American renewables and the green transition," said Tim Evans, partner at CIP and head of its North America operations.

The project is estimated to save customers $1.4 billion in power costs over the first 20 years of operation and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year, according to the companies.

Offshore construction of Vineyard Wind began in late 2022. The first turbine was put in place late last year, Avangrid and CIP announced in October. For more information, see October 24, 2023, article - Milestones Reached for U.S. Offshore Wind.

The project is to be built in two phases and is expected to be finished in 2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for the report on Phase I construction and click here for the report on the windfarm addition. Subscribers can click here for the related plant profile.

Industrial Info is tracking 13 active offshore wind projects in New England with a total investment value of more than $24 billion. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports.

Progression on offshore wind development in the U.S. hasn't gone smoothly. For more on that, see November 27, 2023, article - Is Biden's '30 by 30' Offshore Windpower Plan Still Attainable?

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).