Avangrid skips final regulatory hurdle for 2.6GW New England Wind project
US Iberdrola subsidiary Avangrid has received full federal approval of the construction and operations plan (COP) for the New England Wind 1 and 2 offshore projects, formerly known as Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind.
The approval will permit the construction and operation of two offshore wind energy facilities, known as New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2, which together will have a total capacity of up to 2.6GW that could power more than 900,000 homes each year.
The two projects are actually two phases of one project, which will be located some 37 km south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, near the first major US offshore wind farm, Vineyard Wind.
According to Avangrid, the two projects have the potential to create up to 9,200 full-time equivalent jobs and bring $8bn in direct investment to the region. Also, the New England Wind lease area is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 4m tonnes, or the equivalent of taking approximately 700,000 cars off the road each year during the lifespan of the project.
“By securing all federal, state, regional, and local permits, New England Wind 1 has the potential to put shovels in the ground next year and deliver thousands of jobs, local investment, and needed clean energy before the end of the decade,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra.
In March, Avangrid submitted multiple proposals for the New England Wind projects to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island-Connecticut Multi-State Procurement for Offshore Wind. The states are anticipated to announce selected projects from the competitive procurement in August. New England Wind 1 is the only project in the solicitation that has all required permits, the ability to start construction in 2025, and deliver power by 2029.
