(BOSTON) — Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) on Tuesday announced that the Vineyard Wind 1 project is now delivering more than 136 megawatts (MW) to the electric grid in Massachusetts, making it the largest operating offshore wind project in the United States.
The first large-scale offshore wind project in the nation, Vineyard Wind 1 now has 10 turbines in operation totaling approximately 136 MW, enough to power 64,000 homes and businesses in the commonwealth. Vineyard Wind 1 has currently installed 47 foundations and transition pieces and 21 turbines, with installation of the 22nd turbine underway.
The project will be the largest renewable energy facility in New England once fully operational, delivering 806 megawatts – enough clean electricity to power 400,000 homes and businesses.
In February 2024, Vineyard Wind delivered approximately 68 MW from five turbines to the grid. Building on the 136 megawatts currently in operation, additional power will be delivered to the grid sequentially, with each turbine starting production once it completes the commissioning process.
The power from the project interconnects to the New England grid in Barnstable, transmitted by underground cables that connect to a substation further inland on Cape Cod. Once completed, the project will consist of 62 wind turbines.
Offshore wind is a critical energy resource in the Northeast region, and is uniquely positioned to meet the New England region’s winter peak demand. In 2018, ISO New England released an assessment which found that 800 megawatts of offshore wind during a two-week cold snap would have saved ratepayers $40 million to 45 million and avoided more than 108,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to 5 percent of the region’s annual emissions.
Vineyard Wind began offshore construction in late 2022, achieved steel-in-the-water in June 2023, and completed the nation’s first offshore substation in July 2023. Construction flows through the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.
– Avangrid
