Vineyard Wind 1, the US’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, has officially broken ground. It’s also the first project of its kind in the Americas region.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the 806 MW Vineyard Wind 1 took place yesterday, November 18, at Covell’s Beach in Barnstable, Massachusetts. That’s where Vineyard Wind 1 will connect to the national grid on land.
The first construction phase will include laying two transmission cables that will connect Vineyard Wind 1 to the mainland.
OffshoreWind.biz notes:
Last month, Italy’s Prysmian Group received the Notice to Proceed with its contract to supply a submarine power cable system for Vineyard Wind 1, which requires a total of 134 kilometres of power cables. Prysmian will produce the cables at its factories in Finland and Italy, and install them using its cable laying vessels Cable Enterprise and Ulisse.
Read more: Belgian, Italian firms land $1.1B contract for the largest US offshore wind farm
US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA), Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides, Representative Bill Keating (D-MA), and the Vineyard Wind 1 team attended the event.
Haaland said:
Vineyard Wind 1 represents a historic milestone for advancing our nation’s clean energy production.
This project and others across the country will create robust and sustainable economies that lift up communities and support good-paying jobs, while also ensuring future generations have a livable planet.
Vineyard Wind 1 is a 50/50 joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The commercial-scale offshore wind farm will consist of 62 wind turbines around 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.
It will be built by union labor and will generate enough power for more than 400,000 homes.
Vineyard Wind South is also under development. Vineyard Wind 1 will begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.
Photo: Avangrid
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