Vineyard Wind Opts For Made in USA Onshore Cables

Vineyard Wind has selected the US-based Southwire to design, manufacture, and install the onshore cables for Vineyard Wind 1, the first commercial-scale wind farm in the United States.

Southwire’s facility in Huntersville, North Carolina, will manufacture the high voltage cable for the onshore portion of Vineyard Wind 1.

”We’re proud to partner with Southwire, a leading US company that clearly sees the tremendous potential of offshore wind,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen.

”Partnerships with US companies at all levels of the supply chain and in different regions of the country will be essential to maximizing the potential of this industry here in the US. Vineyard Wind 1 has already teamed up with some strong local partners and we look forward to many more partnerships like this as we take the next step to construct the project.”

For the Vineyard Wind 1 project, the plant will manufacture more than 32 miles (51.5 kilometres) of high voltage cable. Southwire’s high voltage field services team, working with local laborers, will install the cable with a projected onshore site completion by the first quarter of 2023.

”Vineyard Wind 1 is an exciting project for all involved, including Southwire,” said Rich Stinson, Southwire President and CEO.

”Through this partnership, Southwire is providing a comprehensive solution to our customer, while also supporting our commitment to sustainability. We’re proud to partner with companies like Vineyard Wind that have similar missions to support the wellbeing of our communities and the environment in which we live.”

The cable will be part of the grid system that will be ready to provide power to 400,000 households from the wind farm’s 62 GE Haliade-X turbines. The turbines themselves are planned to start being installed in the Summer of 2023.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), plans to reach financial close for the 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1 project in the second half of 2021.

The wind farm is located some 56 kilometres off the coast of the Massachusetts mainland.