Vineyard Wind Supplies First Power to Grid

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid said on Wednesday their joint venture Vineyard Wind began generating power for the first time, supplying five megawatts (MW) to the New England grid.

The project is expected to have five turbines operating at full capacity in early 2024, the companies said.

The announcement comes after offshore wind projects in the United States faced financial troubles in recent months on account of soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and increased project costs due to supply chain issues.

The 806-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project, offshore construction of which began in late 2022, is located 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

Once completed, Vineyard Wind 1 will consist of 62 wind turbines which can provide power to almost 400,000 Massachusetts homes and businesses.

Avangrid had earlier canceled contracts to sell power from two other projects in 2023, saying it planned to re-bid its 1,232-MW Commonwealth Wind off Massachusetts and 804-MW Park City off Connecticut in future solicitations.

(Reuters - Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)