Avangrid, Inc., a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a leader in green energy investment and in offshore wind development, have announced the powering up of the first five GE Haliade-X turbines for the Vineyard Wind 1 project. These turbines will deliver clean energy to 30 000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts. Vineyard Wind 1, the first large-scale offshore wind project in the US, is now providing approximately 68 MW to the New England grid, delivering a steady stream of clean energy that will help the region meet winter electricity demand. Once fully operational, Vineyard Wind 1 will deliver 806 MW – enough clean electricity to power 400 000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth.
“After many decades of advocacy, research, policymaking, and finally construction, America’s offshore wind industry has gone from a dream to reality,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Across Massachusetts, in 30 000 homes and businesses, when you turn on the light, you will now be using clean, affordable energy. This will make the air we breathe safer and healthier, save customers money, and bring us one step closer to achieving net-zero emissions. I’m grateful to the Legislature for their leadership in developing our offshore wind industry, state and local officials for their efforts, and the union workers who built this industry from the ground up.”
In early January, Vineyard Wind delivered approximately 5 MW of power from one turbine to the grid. Following that critical milestone, the project has provided power from each of the first five turbines intermittently, as it ramped up to initial operations. Currently, the project has successfully installed nine turbines and is in the process of installing the 10th, with preparations underway to transport the 11th turbine to the offshore project site. Building on the 68 MW currently in operation, additional power will be delivered to the grid sequentially, with each turbine starting production once it completes the commissioning process.
The power from the project interconnects to the New England grid in Barnstable, transmitted by underground cables that connect to a substation further inland on Cape Cod. Once completed, the project will consist of 62 wind turbines. Offshore wind is a critical energy resource in the Northeast region, and is uniquely positioned to meet the New England region’s winter peak demand. In 2018, ISO New England released an assessment, which found that 800 Megawatts of offshore wind during a two-week cold snap would have saved ratepayers $40-45 million and avoided more than 108,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to 5% of the region’s annual emissions.
An 806 MW project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind will generate electricity for more than 400 000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers US$1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tpy, the equivalent of taking 325 000 cars off the road annually.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Winter 2023 issue
The Winter 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles weather analysis, geothermal solutions, energy storage technology, and more. This issue also features a regional report looking at the future of renewables in North America, and a report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, on how Iceland utilises its unique geology for renewable energy.