Offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind, a portfolio company of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables, has hired Jack Arruda to serve as technical development manager.
Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Mass., is seeking to build the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the U.S. Specifically, Vineyard Wind is one of three companies that have acquired lease rights to build wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts. The company’s project area is about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
According to Vineyard Wind, Arruda has a lengthy background in developing and operating power projects in the Northeast. A lifelong resident of Dartmouth, Mass., and a graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a degree in marine engineering, Arruda has more than 25 years of experience in operating and managing energy projects, says the company.
As technical development manager, he will lead the local technical development of the proposed Vineyard Wind project and oversee issues such as grid interconnection, onshore route permitting and cable installation, as well as manage the development and use of the port facilities for both construction and operation of the project. The company notes that Massachusetts is requiring utilities to procure 1.6 GW of offshore wind energy within the next decade.
Previously, Arruda served as the director of operations for Caithness Energy. He also spent over 17 years with Energy Management Inc., where he worked in the development of solar and combined-cycle, natural gas-fired generation facilities. In addition, as part of EMI, he was involved in the design and planning of the proposed Cape Wind project. He was also previously the operations and facility manager at the 270 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Tiverton, R.I., when he worked for eight years at Calpine and GE.
