Vineyard Offshore eliminated 50 positions in the U.S. and Europe, but none on the Vineyard.
The company behind Vineyard Wind is cutting dozens of positions as the fledgling offshore energy industry faces economic headwinds.
Vineyard Offshore eliminated 50 positions in the U.S. and Europe, but none on the Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, which was developed by Vineyard Offshore, has its operations center on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven. The positions that were cut include a mix of unfilled positions, contractors and other employees.
The layoffs come as offshore wind energy projects try to navigate a presidential administration that is vehemently against wind turbines, and the Vineyard Wind project deals with the fallout from the blade that broke off in July.
“In an effort to position our projects for sustainable long-term success we have made the difficult decision to reduce our current team size in light of recent market uncertainties,” the Vineyard Offshore spokesperson Kathryn Niforos said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to advance these transformative American energy projects in the years ahead.”
Aside from Vineyard Wind, which was the largest operational offshore wind project in the U.S. before one of its blades snapped off, Vineyard Offshore is working on several other wind farms.
The company is also behind the proposed Excelsior Wind, a project off Long Island, one in California and Vineyard Wind 2 off the Island’s south coast. Altogether, the plans amount to more than 6 gigawatts of energy on the east and west coasts.
All unpermitted projects across the country are in a holding pattern after President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting any approvals. Vineyard Wind 2 is proposed about 29 miles south of the Vineyard and had already been in limbo because Connecticut decided to not sign on to an agreement to buy power from the project.
Despite the setbacks, Vineyard Offshore said it is committed to offshore wind energy and to getting the original Vineyard Wind project fully operational.
“The Vineyard Wind project, including its staff and contractors, remains unaffected by Vineyard Offshore’s changes,” Ms. Niforos said. “Its shareholders are fully committed to ensuring the project’s successful completion.”
Comments
Think the key approach is not
Gina Menemsha/NyCThink the key approach is not if any VW local layoffs but when as a trickle down fund cutbacks occur
I hate to hear about any lay
Peter OBI hate to hear about any lay-offs, people have family’s etc… that being said, the writing is on the wall. Wind is not worth the long term costs. I
@Peter - you're dead right
JB VH@Peter - you're dead right that large scale wind is not an economically viable option. Neither is solar. Wind and solar are great options in small scale on individual homes/buildings to help offset the demand-use at the use point. In other words, for immediate use and generation back to the power grid during the day when energy demand is highest, they help to offset the consumption use and costs. But beyond that they're not truly green when you look at their entire carbon footprint. If we're serious about forcing the population to one energy option, one that's not tied to fossil fuels and their large stored-energy capacity the only truly green option is nuclear. However, even then, our current grid isn't up to the demands....
Thanks for making the great point about wind, and I agree that layoffs suck for all......
Solar is often the most grid
Tim Johnson TisburySolar is often the most grid-friendly option as it is often generated where it is used.
Additionally, Eversource has been and is continuing to do grid improvements all over its system.
Locally the improvements are visible on Edgartown-VH Road. Barnes Road. Edg- WT road in Edgartown. State Road via Panhandle-Middle-Menemsha Crossroad (s).
additionally, The Backbone primary from Tisbury Dump to West Chop shore connection station.
Let us also not forget the 1 new and 1 replacement submarine cables from Falmouth to West and East Chop- and the new service from the shoreline in Falmouth to the substation in East Falmouth where it meets new service lines up to the former Plymouth Nuclear plant.
To say the system does not support renewables ignores all these obvious local upgrades that the Eversource customer is already complaining about in their billing statement.
More system-wide improvements can be found on the Eversource website. Many are the state mandated hardening of the system against storm outages mandated back in 2017
The only reason there are any
just a thought mvyThe only reason there are any buyers for this overpriced boondogle is because the legislature in Boston MANDATES that a percentage of electricity sold in Mass MUST be 'renewable'. If you check the suppliers options, I beleive it is now 59% UP from 49% last year. its a 'back door' deal that the voters had no input on. So no matter what the price, ratepayers in MA are forced to buy the overpriced wind.
Despite the offshore wind
Tim ChilmarkDespite the offshore wind fiasco, they'd better not defund the rebuilding at the GH lighthouse or it'll be exposed to the elements.
The offshore energy industry
Albert GosnoldThe offshore energy industry is not fledging, it is in full flight. It will continue to grow world wide. Particularly in technology focused countries, like China, and even India.
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