The 800-megawatt (MW) Vineyard Wind's planned large offshore wind farm and electricity transmission project was selected to deliver wind power to the U.S. state of Massachusetts, the company announced Wednesday.
The wind farm is considered the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the country, and according to Vineyard Wind’s statement, when completed will reduce Massachusetts’ carbon emissions by over 1.6 million tons per year, the equivalent of removing 325,000 cars from state roads.
Massachusetts passed a new energy law in 2016, called An Act to Promote Energy Diversity, requiring the state's Electric Distribution Companies (EDCs) to procure 1,600 MW of clean, offshore wind energy within the next decade.
"The addition of 1,600 MW of low-carbon wind generation capacity will provide enough clean, homegrown energy to power the equivalent of more than 750,000 Massachusetts homes every year," according to Vineyard Wind.
Under Massachusetts law, the selection of Vineyard Wind by the EDCs and Department of Energy Resources "allows all parties to begin negotiations to secure all necessary transmission services and power purchase agreements to facilitate the delivery of offshore wind electricity to Massachusetts customers," the statement said.
"Once satisfactory contract terms are secured, those documents will be submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for formal review," it added.
According to Vineyard Wind's early timetable, construction for the wind farm 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard is scheduled to begin in 2019, and the farm is expected to be up and running by 2021.
"Vineyard Wind is proud to be selected to lead the new Massachusetts offshore wind industry into the future," said Lars Thaaning Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind, an equally-owned joint venture between Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Portland, Oregon-based Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc., which is majority owned by Spain's Iberdrola S.A.
"Today’s announcement by [Massachusetts EDCs] reflects the strong commitment to clean energy by Governor [Charlie] Baker and the Massachusetts Legislature," Pedersen said in a press release.
"We look forward to working with the Commonwealth, the communities of the Cape, Islands, and South Coast, and all stakeholders in together fully realizing the enormous opportunity of offshore wind," he added.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr