Avangrid announced Wednesday that it has finalized an agreement to manage and operate the 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project when it begins operations in 2023. Co-owned with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the project off the coast of Massachusetts will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States.
Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra Blázquez called offshore wind energy “a tremendous opportunity” and said completion of Vineyard Wind 1 “will lay the groundwork for the continued growth of the industry in the decades to come,” growth which includes a 4.9-GW project pipeline for Avangrid.
In addition to holding 50% ownership of Vineyard Wind, Avangrid owns the 1,200-MW Commonwealth Wind project offshore of Massachusetts, the 804-MW Park City Wind project offshore of Connecticut and the 2,500-MW Kitty Hawk Wind project off the coast of North Carolina.
The Vineyard Wind project is expected to begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts next year and to begin full commercial operations in 2024.
Avangrid said it has finalized an operations and maintenance service agreement and an asset management agreement for the project and that it will need to hire about 20 employees. The utility will be in charge of operations management of the wind farm, including “supervision of critical tasks such as turbine, cable and substation maintenance, coordination of contractors, 24/7 control center services, trading, and assets management.”
