Iberdrola, through its US subsidiary Avangrid, has signed an agreement to assume responsibility as the operations and management service provider for Vineyard Wind 1the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States, the company said.
Vineyard Wind 1 is an 800 megawatt (MW) offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. It is owned by an equal joint venture between Avangrid and Danish fund Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
More precisely, the agreements include the operation and maintenance services contract and the asset management contract which designate Avangrid as responsible for overseeing the operation and management of the facility once construction is complete and commercial operations have begun.
Through these agreements, the Iberdrola subsidiary will provide services to the Vineyard Wind 1 project and lead the management of wind farm operations, including including supervising essential tasks such as turbine maintenancecables and substations, the coordination of contractors and the establishment of a permanent control center, among others.
Avangrid will hire around 20 technically qualified employees, including key positions who will undergo intensive training abroad at Iberdrola’s offshore wind farms in operation in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, which will prepare them to operate the innovative US facility.
Pedro Azagra, CEO of Avangrid, said that the company “is proud to be a pioneer in the offshore wind industry in the United States and, drawing on the global expertise of the Iberdrola Group and a skilled and talented local workforce, it is well placed to maximize the operation and performance of the project.
He also emphasized that offshore wind represents “a great opportunity to advance America’s ambitious climate goals” and insisted that “the successful completion and operation of ‘Vineyard Wind 1’ will lay the foundation for the industry’s continued growth for decades to come.”including Avangrid’s 4.9 gigawatt (GW) portfolio of projects in this technology.
It will start supplying electricity in 2023
Vineyard Wind 1 should start to provide clean energy in Massachusetts in 2023 and enter commercial service in 2024.
The wind farm will produce affordable renewable energy for more than 400,000 homes and businessesreducing CO2 emissions by more than 1.6 million tonnes per year, while creating 3,600 full-time equivalent jobs and saving taxpayers $1.4 billion (approximately €1.374 billion) over the life of the project.
Iberdrola, through Avangrid, has a portfolio of offshore wind projects in the United States of nearly five GW. In addition to its 50% stake in Vineyard Wind 1, it owns 100% of the 1,200 MW Commonwealth Wind project, also off the coast of Massachusetts, as well as the 804 MW Park City Wind project off the coast of Connecticut and the 2,500 MW Kitty Hawk Wind project off the coast of North Carolina.
Offshore wind power, strategic for the group
In Iberdrola’s global renewable energy portfolio, which totals 90 GW, offshore wind is one of the group’s main growth opportunities.
Last year, the group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán has invested in new growth platforms in other countries such as Poland, Sweden, Ireland, Japan and Australiabringing the size of the group’s global offshore wind portfolio to 31.7 GW.