Press Releases
01/25/2021
Vineyard Wind Completes Technical Review, Requests BOEM to Continue Federal Permitting Process
Vineyard Wind Completes Technical Review, Requests BOEM to Continue Federal Permitting Process
AVANGRID joint venture takes important step toward developing first utility-scale offshore wind farm in U.S. waters
Orange, Conn. – January 25, 2021 -- Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), today notified the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that the company is rescinding its December 2020 request to withdraw the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for Vineyard Wind 1, allowing the federal permitting process to resume.
“With the completion of a thorough technical review following the selection of the GE Haliade-X turbine, the Vineyard Wind team has concluded that no modifications to the Vineyard Wind 1 COP are necessary,” said Alejandro de Hoz, president and CEO of Avangrid Renewables. “The project has undergone significant analysis and study over the past three years. We anticipate that this will facilitate BOEM’s final review and we look forward to the conclusion of the federal permitting process.”
In December, Vineyard Wind announced the selection of GE Renewable Energy’s industry leading Haliade-X wind turbine generators, the most powerful turbine currently available to developers. With this selection, GE Renewable Energy is poised to play a pivotal role in the development of offshore wind power in the U.S., which will be a major source of investments and job creation up and down the supply chain in communities across the region.
As a part of reaching this important milestone, Vineyard Wind decided to temporarily withdraw its COP from further review by BOEM in order to conduct a final technical review associated with including the Haliade-X in the final project design, work that has now concluded. Vineyard Wind still expects to reach financial close in the second half of 2021 and to begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.
Vineyard Wind 1 is an 800-megawatt (MW) project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and is slated to become the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States. The project will generate cost-competitive electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tons per year.
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About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $36 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. With headquarters in Orange, Connecticut, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,600 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2019 and 2020 by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
Photo shown is East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm courtesy of ScottishPower Renewables.
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.
