Press Releases
05/19/2022
Avangrid Renewables, Town of Barnstable Enter into Host Community Agreement to Advance Park City Wind Project
Avangrid Renewables, Town of Barnstable Enter into Host Community Agreement to Advance Park City Wind Project
ORANGE, CT – May 19, 2022 – Avangrid Renewables, LLC, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), today announced that it has entered into a Host Community Agreement with the Town of Barnstable for the Park City Wind project. The agreement, which will be filed with the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), represents a key milestone for the project and positions the Town of Barnstable to secure significant local benefits from the continued development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.
“The Town of Barnstable is proud to continue to play a leadership role in our nation’s transition to clean energy,” said Barnstable Town Manager Mark Ells. “Hosting a second cable landing in Barnstable has allowed the Commonwealth to continue its efforts to chart a course for clean energy and climate action. The signing of a host community agreement with Park City Wind is a reflection of the strong community support for this clean energy initiative. The project and associated host community agreement will foster robust communication, cooperative planning and coordinated construction activities that will advance the Town’s sewer project, while providing millions of dollars in tax revenue and mitigation payments over the life of the project. We look forward to a productive relationship with Park City Wind as they continue with their efforts to provide clean and cost-effective energy.”
“As we continue to advance this vital new clean energy industry, Avangrid Renewables is honored to work with the Town of Barnstable, which has demonstrated tremendous leadership in helping make offshore wind in the U.S. a reality,” said Bill White, Avangrid Renewables’ President and CEO, Offshore. “By limiting construction to non-summer months, aligning with the Town’s sewer line installation work, and infusing significant revenue to support essential municipal services, this plan is a win-win for the Town of Barnstable and our mutual goal to build transformational clean energy projects like Park City Wind.”
The Park City Wind Host Community Agreement (HCA) is the second offshore wind benefits package signed by the Town of Barnstable, and follows the HCA the town signed for Vineyard Wind 1 in 2018. Avangrid Renewables is a 50% joint owner of the Vineyard Wind project, along with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
As part of the agreement, Avangrid Renewables will pay the town $16 million as a host community fee, above and beyond the applicable commercial taxes that will be assessed by the town. Additionally, Avangrid Renewables will limit construction at the beach and along roadways to the non-summer months and will restore the western portion of the parking lot at Craigville Beach, which will be used for temporary staging. Avangrid Renewables has also committed to taking extra measures, above and beyond standard engineering practice, to protect groundwater in Barnstable.
The Town of Barnstable will support electric transmission cables from the project to make an underground landfall at Craigville Beach and run underground along town roads to a newly constructed substation at Shootflying Hill Road. Avangrid Renewables will coordinate with the planned installation of a municipal sewer line along the onshore route to minimize disruption and defray some of the town’s sewer line roadwork costs.
Park City Wind is an 800 MW offshore wind project that was awarded a contract with Connecticut in 2019. The project will provide enough clean energy to power approximately 400,000 homes per year and cut greenhouse gases by approximately 1.1 million tons annually, the equivalent of taking more than 200,000 cars off the road. In addition to Park City Wind, Avangrid Renewables is developing the 1200 Megawatt Commonwealth Wind project, providing more than 2 GW of clean, renewable energy to the New England market.
Park City Wind is currently engaged in the federal and state permitting process, consulting with tribal and local agencies, including the Barnstable, Edgartown, Nantucket Conservation Commissions, and the Cape Cod Commission. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.