Press Releases

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.