After missing the initial goal of delivering power by the end of 2023, Vineyard Wind this week announced one of its first five wind turbines is now sending electricity to the grid.
After missing the initial goal of delivering power by the end of 2023, Vineyard Wind this week announced one of its first five wind turbines is now sending electricity to the grid.
At 11:52 p.m. Tuesday, the turbine about 12 miles off the Vineyard distributed about five megawatts of power to the New England regional grid in Barnstable, the first electricity from an offshore wind turbine in Massachusetts.
Vineyard Wind, a joint operation between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, plans to have 62 turbines that can generate about 800 megawatts of power, enough electricity for approximately 400,000 homes in the state. The company Tuesday said it expects the first five turbines could be running at full capacity in early 2024.
“Today, we begin a new chapter and welcome 2024 by delivering the first clean offshore wind power to the grid in Massachusetts,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra in a statement. “We’ve arrived at a watershed moment for climate action in the U.S., and a dawn for the American offshore wind industry.”
The project had been delayed, with company officials previously estimating that six turbines could be built and sending power through undersea cables to the mainland by the end of last year. During a tour of the construction in August, the company said the summer’s wind, rain and fog put the project behind schedule, but they were still hopeful to bring electricity in the fall of 2023. Getting the proper vessels to handle the massive construction project — the turbines are about three times taller than the Statue of Liberty — has also been hard, the company previously said.
The $4 billion project was pitched as the country’s first commercial-scale wind farm, though South Fork Wind, a smaller project off New York, delivered the first power to the U.S. in early December.
Despite the setback, state officials cheered the Vineyard Wind milestone. The project was the first to get approval in the prized 800,000 square-acre area south of the Island where several wind farms are expected to be built.
“Today marks a historic moment for Massachusetts, and indeed the nation,” said state Sen. Julian Cyr, a Truro Democrat who represents the Island in the statehouse. “This milestone is a testament to the achievements we can reach through collaboration, persistence and a dedication to a green future.”
Construction on the project began in 2022. Vineyard Wind is also working on an operations headquarters on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven and a helicopter hangar at Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
Comments
Will Vineyard Wind honor its
Dean ChilmarkWill Vineyard Wind honor its promise to install an Aircraft Detection Lighting System to reduce the light pollution and visibility of the turbines from the Vineyard at night? If so, when?
Really, that's what you're
Carol formerly ChilmarkReally, that's what you're worried about? Not sea level rise from climate change?
You can see the windmills in
Kevin OBYou can see the windmills in Chilmark?
So exciting!!! Free clean
Alan EdgartownSo exciting!!! Free clean power from Mother Nature! I say build more! Next let’s fade out diesel trucks and buses… why do folks have to drive around in the big suvs anyways with one person inside??
It certainly is not free, nor
Dave West TisburyIt certainly is not free, nor is it really clean. And all of the vessels that will transport people to service the turbines will burn a whole lot of diesel.
It's not free power. This
Jose Oak BluffsIt's not free power. This project only exists because of enormous government subsidies that somebody is paying for. And what about the impact of this project on wildlife? And this is also not "clean power." Windmills require rare earth minerals to build, the mining of which causes serious groundwater pollution which never seems to enter the discussion because it is not carbon pollution and because this mining occurs in other countries. And how should we measure the impact of enriching some of our most significant geopolitical adversaries (e.g., China) who are industry leaders in producing these structures and supplying needed materials? And how should one quantify the impact on those whose views of the ocean are forever changed? I have never yet had a free lunch that I could afford.
Funny I seem to recall, maybe
Colin Floyd ChappyFunny I seem to recall, maybe I’m wrong, that the turbines would be 14-16 miles offshore?
So $4 Billion USD of Capex to
Money Matters EdgartownSo $4 Billion USD of Capex to (eventually) power 400,000 homes with the average MA home needing roughly 7,000kWh of demand at MA state average of $0.31/kWh….. ok, sounds exciting. That means this announcement alone (after all the money spent thus far on cables, turbines, VH dev projects) powers less than 1 house for a year. The more troubling part of this is that when a private company takes on investment to build this (grant, direct or other) they still have a need to return capital. So the scary thing about all of this isn’t the lights or the cables or the uproar, but the simple fact that Vineyard Wind is selling at $0.065 kWh to the grid (per their docs) and that’s a fun ~22 years until they’ve broken even. How on earth do we plan to understand the longevity of these 62 turbines let alone understand the fiduciary appetite of the funding parties to endure such a prolonged period of capital return. IMO the completion of 62 turbines is difficult to comprehend happening so at minimum it would be important that the Gazette and other publishers ask the harder questions about the business of this operation. Pointing out blinking lights and seeing them on the horizon is too little too late. That’s the easy stuff to knock down if I were Vineyard Wind. So let’s pause and perhaps consider doubling down on the feasibility of this operation now, and at scale and perhaps then, and only then we as a community can construct an educated position. Until then, it’s apparently going to be more celebration of minimal results.
Using your figures: 400,000
Robert Skydell Antigua, GuatemalaUsing your figures: 400,000 homes using roughly 7,000/kWh annually @ an average of $.31/kWh = $868,000,000 (nearly a billion dollars annually). Subtracting maintenance, repairs and associated operating costs and ROI, it seems like quite a stretch to assume a B/E point at 22 years with 62 turbines.
In addition, assuming that non-renewable sources supplying the grid will likely see increases in energy costs over time, while wind remains at net zero cost to the provider, and that renewable energy provides associated benefits environmentally, I'd would beg to differ with your claim of minimal results.
Can see these monstrosities
Mark EdgartownCan see these monstrosities from south beach easily, we were lied to by the developer about the visual pollution. Shame.
Congratulations to MV! Yes,
Natalie NYCCongratulations to MV! Yes, free clean energy why not!!! Yay!!
I have been waiting years for
Kathy East Bridgewater, MassachusettsI have been waiting years for an offshore wind project to come to fruition. It is supposed to eventually power as many as 400,000 homes. I just checked some statistics about the Island. Per point2homes.com, there are 4,700 households on Island and the 2020 Federal Census set the year-round population at 20,600. By the way, I started visiting the Island in 1960, my parents owned a home and ran a business there, I married a native, lived year-round and worked, and my daughter and grandchildren were born on Island. I just can't believe the whining about your 'view' being spoiled and the project using rare earth elements when they are in your smart phone, computer, laptops, TV's, LED lights, monitors, rechargeable batteries and so forth. You possibly use more in your home than one of the clean power windmills. Your complaints connote the selfish attitude the wealthy have come to represent. May your multimillion-dollar Island homes will fall into the ocean that much faster from your selfish actions which block and stave off addressing climate change.
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