Developers pitch new offshore wind projects off Vineyard coast 

Four offshore wind energy developers eyeing the water south of the Vineyard submitted new proposals to Massachusetts and other neighboring states last week in an effort to get new wind farms in the ocean within the next several years.

The new wave of projects could come as early as 2029, though the developers also had timelines running into 2031 and beyond. None of the companies plan to have any operations on Martha’s Vineyard, leaving Vineyard Wind as the only project to set up an outpost here.

Avangrid, Ocean Winds, Orsted and Vineyard Offshore all submitted plans Wednesday for farms in the 800,000 square-acre area off the Vineyard. Together, the proposals amount to more than 5,000 megawatts of power.
A map shows where several new farms are hoping to install wind turbines south of the Island. – Courtesy of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

The bid process run by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island was set up last year after several projects hit strong financial headwinds, causing them to terminate their power supply contracts.

Developers paid millions of dollars to back out of contracts, citing inflation and upended economics from the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Now, those companies, all of which already have leases for the waters outer continental shelf area, are back. Massachusetts itself sought solicitations for up to 3,600 megawatts, the largest callout for proposals in the state’s history. For comparison, Vineyard Wind – the farm that is currently being built about 14 miles south of the Island – will produce 800 megawatts.

Three of the proposals that were made directly to Massachusetts were posted on the Massachusetts Clean Energy website. But the full scope of the bids, including pricing information, cannot be ascertained because the bids were heavily redacted under the trade secrets exemption in the state’s public records law.

Avangrid, which is backing Vineyard Wind along with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, said it wants to build two more farms, known as New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2. The company estimated that the first farm – previously named Park City Wind – could produce power by 2029 and would connect to the grid in Barnstable. The second could generate power by 2030, producing 1,080 megawatts.

Vineyard Offshore, which was also involved in Vineyard Wind, submitted a 1,200 megawatt proposal named Vineyard Wind 2 that could send power to the Connecticut grid by 2031. The operations and management building would be in New Bedford.

Orsted, the company behind the recently approved Sunrise Wind and Revolution Wind, pitched Starboard Wind to Rhode Island and Connecticut, though it would connect to Massachusetts in Somerset.

Ocean Winds’ SouthCoast Wind project would produce 1,200 megawatts of power, potentially by 2030, and also connect in Somerset. Ocean Winds last month acquired SouthCoast Wind after previously splitting the project 50-50 with another developer.

Massachusetts will start reviewing the proposals and coordinate with Connecticut and Rhode Island to evaluate projects that would improve the region, lower costs and enhance project viability, according to a statement from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

A final decision on the projects at the state level is expected in August. The wind farms would also still need to get approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.