A huge new 1.2 GW offshore wind farm is headed to New England

Vineyard Offshore, which developed Vineyard Wind 1, has submitted a proposal for a 1.2 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm to three New England states.

A new offshore wind farm for New England

The proposal is for Vineyard Wind 2, and it was put forward in response to a solicitation from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island for up to 6.8 GW of offshore wind capacity.

Vineyard Wind 2 was proposed to each state and to the three states together under the New England solicitation process.

Vineyard Offshore asserts that its proposal includes more than 200 letters of support from local officials, suppliers, and stakeholders from all three states. An offshore wind tribal benefit agreement was also recently signed with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. 

“As the team that developed Vineyard Wind 1, the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, Vineyard Offshore knows how to deliver offshore wind to New England, and that’s by earning the trust of the communities we work in,” said Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton.

The 1.2 GW offshore wind farm would provide enough clean power to the New England grid for the equivalent of more than 650,000 households starting in 2031. It would avoid 2.1 million tons of CO2 emissions annually across the region, equivalent to taking 414,000 cars off the road.

Vineyard Wind 2 would be located 29 miles south of Nantucket in lease area OCS-522, held by funds that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners manages. Vineyard Offshore is the US development partner for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, along with Avangrid.

Vineyard Offshore says Salem Offshore Wind Terminal in Massachusetts would be the staging site for wind turbine installation; foundation components would be made in Providence, Rhode Island; and operations and maintenance for the completed Vineyard Wind 2 would be at the New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal in Massachusetts.

Export cable from Vineyard Wind 2 Wind would land in New London, Connecticut, and interconnect with the New England power grid in Montville.

The proposal asserts that the development of Vineyard Wind 2 would generate approximately $2.3 billion in direct expenditure and 3,800 job-years of employment across New England, with over $1.5 billion realized in Massachusetts, along with 80% of regional jobs.

Electricity market impacts and other benefits totaling as much as $4.8 billion over 20 years from adding 1.2 GW of offshore wind to the New England grid include $600 million from reduced wholesale electricity market rates and avoidance of winter price spikes.

Electrek’s Take

Vineyard Wind is only at the proposal stage, which was submitted today. So why write about it if it’s not a certainty?

Because it’s Vineyard Offshore that’s proposing it. Besides New York’s South Fork Wind, Vineyard Wind 1 is the only US offshore wind farm to come online so far. It’s proven that it can bring US offshore wind online. Plus, the company already holds the offshore lease area.

Vineyard Wind 2 has a darn good chance of coming to fruition.

Read more: 5 wind turbines just came online at Massachusetts’ first offshore wind farm

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