Offshore wind development has a long way to go in the USA. Still, the Vineyard Wind Farm has made a significant step in helping the country tap into offshore wind resources.
The offshore wind farm can prevent 1.6 million tons of carbon emissions annually by installing 62 GE Halaide 13 MW Wind Turbines. As the first offshore wind farm to achieve financial close, it would bring power to 400,000 homes and 806 MW of offshore wind farm capacity.
Vineyard Wind is the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the USA. Its approval was a watershed moment for the industry and other large-scale offshore wind farm developers in the US. The approval comes only two months after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the final environmental impact statement in March 2022.
The next part of the Vineyard Wind Farm is New England Wind, which BOEM awarded to Vineyard Wind in 2015 from a competitive bidding process.
Where is the Vineyard Offshore Wind Farm?
The offshore wind farm is 15 miles off Martha’s vineyard. From its landfall site at Barnstable, the cables will go underground and connect to a substation in Hyannis, New England, Massachusetts. The new substation will be next to an Eversource substation.
Who owns the Vineyard Wind Farm?
Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are equal 50:50 owners of Vineyard Wind Farm.
Iberdrola committed to investing between $20 and $35 billion in the US between 2020 and 2025.
When is the first power of Vineyard Wind?
The wind farm will deliver electricity to 400,000 households by 2023.
How much power will the Vineyard Wind produce?
The project has an 800 MW capacity – enough to power 400,000 homes!
Is Vineyard Wind under construction?
Vineyard Wind Farm’s consutrctuion started in November 2021. Construction is expected to end in 2023.
How large are the Vineyard Wind turbines?
Vineyard Wind Farm will utilize GE Haliade X-13 MW turbines, which can reach a height of 260 meters to the tip.
The Haliade platform can power a household for two days with a single rotation! Each turbine can save up to 52,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Who is building the offshore wind turbines?
GE was announced as the preferred turbine supplier in December 2020 and received the orders in October 2021. Previously, Vestas was the supplier but eventually got canceled due to project delays stemming from permit approvals.
Expansion Plans
The wind power generated from Vineyard Wind is only the first part of the region to be developed. New England Wind will be set adjacent to the Vineyard Wind project. New England Wind farm is formerly known as Vineyard Wind South.
The first phase is Park City Wind, and the second phase will be called the Commonwealth Wind. Both phases will deliver up to 2.6 GW of installed capacity.
Altogether, the expansion plans will grow the wind farm to an estimated 2.8 GW of installed capacity.
| Wind Farm Name | Owner | Installed Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Vineyard Wind | Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners & Avangrid | 804 MW |
| Park City Wind | Avangrid | 804 MW |
| Commonwealth Wind | Avangrid | 1,232 MW |