Vineyard Wind Makes Offshore Wind Play in Connecticut

US offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind LLC has responded to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) request for proposals for offshore wind energy.

“Vineyard Wind has submitted a compliant offering in response to the Connecticut DEEP’s offshore wind solicitation deadline on April 2nd,” a spokesman for the company said.

”Vineyard Wind is pleased to offer options to a growing number of states along the East Coast who value offshore wind as a cost competitive, emission free source of energy that can deliver job creation and economic development benefits.”

Vineyard Wind is the third offshore wind developer to respond to DEEP’s request for proposals and is competing against Bay State Wind and Deepwater Wind. The three companies also submitted bids in response to Massachusetts’ first request for proposals for offshore wind energy generation.

Connecticut’s DEEP is seeking to solicit up to 825,000 MWh of offshore wind-generated power annually. The minimum nameplate capacity of the projects must be no less than 2MW, which may include paired and co-located energy storage.

The projects are to be located in New England or an adjacent control area, including federal waters, DEEP said.

Eligible projects must begin construction no earlier than the effective date of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The first electricity must be delivered no sooner than July 2019 and no later than 31 December 2025. The winning bid is expected to be announced in June 2018.

New Bedford-based Vineyard Wind is a 50-50 partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola.