Partnership combines global experience, strategic expertise, and deep financial backing
Avangrid Renewables and Vineyard Wind have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop a large scale wind energy project off the coast of Massachusetts. Avangrid Renewables is acquiring a 50% ownership interest in Vineyard Wind, the offshore wind energy developer that is part of the Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) portfolio.
A scene of this sort will be visible off the coast of Massachusetts by 2020.
The companies say this is a major strategic partnership that combines Avangrid Renewables’ U.S. onshore wind development capabilities with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Iberdrola’s European offshore wind expertise to give Vineyard Wind a significant advantage in building Massachusetts’ first offshore wind project.
Avangrid Renewables is a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc Iberdrola S.A., a worldwide leader in the energy industry with significant offshore wind holdings in Europe, owns 81.5% of the outstanding shares of AVANGRID common stock.
The partnership of the two companies will bring extensive offshore wind expertise and substantial financial firepower to the Commonwealth’s initiative to build offshore wind projects in Massachusetts.
Last summer, Massachusetts required utilities to procure 1,600 MW of clean, offshore wind energy within the next decade, setting off an intense competition among offshore wind developers in the region.
Three companies to date have acquired lease rights to build projects off the coast, including Vineyard Wind. Vineyard Wind’s project area is about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
Vineyard Wind plans to begin construction of its project in early 2020, in order to bring the economic development and clean energy benefits of offshore wind to Massachusetts as soon as possible. Vineyard Wind has also worked hard to establish long-term relationships and partnerships with the local community that will provide significant benefit to the project.
Filed Under: Construction, Offshore wind
