UHL Felicity has delivered the first components for the Vineyard Wind project at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. The shipment included components for GE’s Haliade-X 13-megawat turbines.

Towers will arrive in three sections and once onshore will be staged at the terminal before being partially assembled by union labor and loaded onto a specialised barge. In all, approximately 100 union trades people will work on the site during the peak construction period.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid. “The arrival of the first turbine components for Vineyard Wind 1 marks a significant milestone for the construction of this first-in-the-nation project,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “The U.S. clean energy transformation is accelerating, and well represented by the City of New Bedford, where local, union workers will build this historic project, deliver clean energy to 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts, and pioneer a new American offshore wind industry.”

Orion ready for work

Vineyard Wind noted that on or about the May 29, DEME’s offshore installation behemoth Orion will begin installing the first six monopile foundations and accompanying transition pieces. The vessel will then move to install the offshore substation foundation and subsequently continue the installation of the remaining monopiles and transition pieces.

An 800-megawatt project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road annually. The project will begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.