DEME to Install Vineyard Wind 1 Foundations

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewable and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has awarded DEME Offshore US with a contract for the installation of offshore wind turbine foundations for the Vineyard Wind 1 project in Massachusetts.

DEME said that this was a substantial contract, noting that the company qualifies a contract as “substantial” if it is valued at EUR 150-300 million.

The award of the foundation installation work for the 800 MW offshore wind farm, for which Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) was initially announced as a preferred supplier, follows DEME’s contract from earlier this year, when the company was chosen to carry out the transport and installation of the project’s wind turbines.

As the contractor for the foundation installation, DEME will handle the transportation and installation of the monopile foundations, transition pieces, and scour protection for the wind turbine foundations, in addition to the offshore electrical substation foundation and platform.

“We’re pleased to work with DEME on another facet of our Vineyard Wind 1 project because they understand the need to train the US workforce so that we can meet the demands of this growing industry”, said Vineyard Wind CEO, Lars T. Pedersen. “With this contractor in place, we can now build on the goals laid out in our Project Labor Agreement and lay the foundation for the good paying US  jobs that will carry our industry forward”.

As a part of the recently signed Project Labor Agreement, Vineyard Wind 1 and DEME Offshore will closely work together with the local unions and trades to provide training in this new industry. The goal is to have US workers play an increasing role on a variety of scopes of work during the construction of the project, DEME Offshore said in a press release.

“DEME Offshore US LLC has always promoted cooperation with local companies and local people, we believe in the success of bringing people from different backgrounds and expertise together in one team. We will deploy highly specialised vessels and crews with huge experience in offshore wind and in the same time providing opportunities for American labour force to become involved in this fascinating business; constructing sustainable offshore energy production for US future energy mix”, said Jan Klaassen, Director DEME Offshore US.

Vineyard Wind 1 is the first commercial scale offshore wind farm in the US to achieve financial close and, at USD 2.3 billion, represents one of the largest investments in a single renewable energy projects in the US.

Construction works are first starting onshore in Barnstable, where the offshore wind farm will connect to the national grid on land, with offshore construction set to commence in 2022 with the installation of foundations and cables, followed by wind turbines.

The 800 MW project will feature next-generation GE Haliade-X wind turbines, scheduled to deliver first power to the grid in 2023.