Vineyard Wind Receives First Shipment of Turbine Components

May 26, 2023, by Adnan Durakovic

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and AVANGRID, has received the first shipment of turbine components for GE’s Haliade-X 13 MW turbine at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal in Massachusetts, USA.

The tower sections will be constructed at the terminal before being shipped out and installed later this summer, Vineyard Wind said.

”After a long road, the first day of component arrival is finally here,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller.

”This is great milestone for New Bedford, Vineyard Wind and the country. We’ve been working together with Mayor Mitchell for years to achieve this and are now finally seeing the result. I am proud to introduce this technology to the US and to see the many jobs that this industry will create in action on the site to today. This is only the first – much more is coming. And the vision of New Bedford at the epicenter of the offshore wind industry is coming to life today.”

Towers will arrive in three sections and once onshore will be staged at the terminal before being partially assembled by union labor and loaded onto a specialized barge. In all, approximately 100 union trades people will work on the site during the peak construction period, according to the developer.

”The arrival of the first turbine components for Vineyard Wind 1 marks a significant milestone for the construction of this first-in-the-nation project,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra.

”The U.S. clean energy transformation is accelerating, and well represented by the City of New Bedford, where local, union workers will build this historic project, deliver clean energy to 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts, and pioneer a new American offshore wind industry.”

The 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1 project is located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. The wind farm is expected to generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers USD 1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road annually.

The wind farm is scheduled to begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.

”CIP is proud to play a leading role on the Vineyard Wind 1 project,” said Tim Evans, Partner and Head of North America for CIP.

”Our extensive industry experience allows us to deliver on our promises, as evidenced today by the arrival of these components. We look forward to many more milestones for Vineyard Wind in the coming months, and to developing future projects in Massachusetts and around the US in the years to come.”

Vineyard Wind 1 will feature 62 GE Haliade-X 13 MW wind turbines.

”We are pleased to work closely with our customer, Vineyard Wind, to bring this historic project on line,” said GE Vernova Offshore Wind CEO Jan Kjaersgaard.

”Our teams at GE Vernova are proud to support the effort to bring more clean, renewable energy online in Massachusetts, across the US, and globally.”