The shareholders of New Bedford, Mass.-based Vineyard Wind have been awarded contracts in Germany and Taiwan for offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of more than 1.35 GW.
The awards to Iberdrola, the majority shareholder of Vineyard Wind partner Avangrid Renewables, as well as Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and partners, during the past week demonstrate the partners’ capabilities in the global offshore wind market, says Vineyard Wind.
Vineyard Wind, which has proposed to develop a wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., with up to 800 MW of generating capacity, is one of three developers competing for long-term contracts with Massachusetts’ electric distribution companies. Bids from offshore wind companies to the utilities were submitted in December, and the awards are expected by May 23.
Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., which is majority-owned by Iberdrola S.A., and CIP each own 50% of the Vineyard Wind joint venture. In the past week, Iberdrola has secured contracts to deliver 486 MW of electricity to Germany through the Baltic Eagle and Wikinger Sud offshore generating facilities, which are located in the Baltic Sea.
CIP has been awarded contracts to construct the Changfang and Xidao Wind projects, representing a combined capacity of 600 MW, and CIP will also build the 300 MW Chongneng project on behalf of a joint venture made up of CIP, China Steel and DGA. All projects are located off the Changhua coast in the Taiwan Strait.
“The winning performance of Vineyard Wind’s shareholders in the European and Asian offshore wind energy markets demonstrates our company’s capacity to deliver substantial benefits of offshore wind off the coast of Massachusetts,” states Lars Thaaning Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind.
