Vineyard Wind Selects Foundations Designers

WSP USA and Wood Thilsted have been awarded the contract to provide detailed design of foundations for Vineyard Wind’s 800MW offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.

The project, being developed by a partnership of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, will be the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in the US.

WSP will provide regulatory assistance and overall project management, and Wood Thilsted will provide specialist knowledge in structural and geotechnical design of offshore wind turbine foundations. This is the first project for the two companies since forming a partnership for the US offshore wind market.

“WSP and Wood Thilsted have taken a significant step toward becoming leading consultants in delivering U.S. offshore wind energy projects,” said Matthew Palmer, offshore wind manager for WSP.

“We have already provided support for the European offshore wind industry, and we’re proud to be doing the same for Vineyard Wind here in the U.S.”

Vineyard Wind is being developed some 14 miles off Martha’s Vineyard and has recently been selected as a preferred solution in the Massachusetts Green Communities Act Section 83C RFP for offshore wind energy projects. The wind farm is expected to enter construction phase in 2019 and become operational by 2021.

“This is a pioneering project in the offshore wind industry,” said Wood Thilsted partner and director Christian LeBlanc Thilsted.

“It is in the deep waters of the Atlantic, known for rough climate conditions that present many design challenges. Delivering detailed structural design services for a project of this size has been one of our central aims, and it’s satisfying to fulfil it for Vineyard Wind.”