Vineyard Wind is currently building the nation's first utility-scale offshore wind energy project over 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. The project will generate clean, renewable, affordable energy for over 400,000 homes and businesses across the Commonwealth, while reducing carbon emissions by over 1.6 million tons per year.
Vineyard Wind 1 is located in federal wind energy area OCS-A-0501, 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts. The location was determined through a multi-year, intergovernmental task force process, which carefully considered scientific data and public input. This area boasts powerful, reliable wind speeds and ideal site conditions to support wind turbines.
Vineyard Wind 1 will consist of an array of 62 wind turbines, spaced 1 nautical mile apart on an east-west and north south orientation. The turbines are General Electric Haliade-X turbines, each capable of generating 13 megawatts of electricity. Electricity generated by the turbines is collected by an offshore substation prior to being transmitted to shore. Vineyard Wind 1 will generate 800 megawatts of electricity and power over 400,000 homes, an equivalent of removing 325,000 vehicles from roadways.
Two submarine cables will be installed along a carefully sited route from the offshore substation to the landing point onshore at Covell’s Beach in Barnstable. Submarine cables are buried up to six feet below the seafloor using a jetplow. The route was selected after extensive geological surveys of the area to avoid sensitive habitats. The onshore cables will be buried beneath public roadways in Barnstable. Read more about our work in Barnstable here.
From the onshore cable landing site, the cables will be installed underground along public roads to an onshore substation in the village of Hyannis. The Vineyard Wind 1 onshore substation will be adjacent to an existing Eversource substation.
New York’s first offshore wind farm will be located 35 miles off the coast of Montauk and power 70,000 homes on the south fork of Long Island with renewable energy. This project was originally going to consist of 15 turbines generating 90 MW of power, but significant technological progress since the original project submission in 2015 will allow these turbines to provide an additional 40 MW of power to Long Islanders.
Unlike the rest of Long Island, where energy demand is decreasing, energy demand on the south fork has increased. Long Island had to make the decision to build a new fossil fuel power plant or build the state’s first offshore wind farm, coupled with battery storage. After years of overwhelming public support for wind, LIPA decided to choose the South Fork Wind Farm.
In January, 2021 the US Bureau of Energy Management released a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the South Fork Wind Farm. The final EIS and project approval is expected to be released by the end of the year. To learn more about the project, check out the comments submitted to BOEM by our Wind Works Long Island coalition members.
Sunrise Wind is estimated to generate up to 800 direct jobs through the project’s construction. Thousands of other indirect and induced jobs will be created to support project work.
Additionally, Sunrise Wind is entering negotiations with New York State contractors and trade labor organizations on a Project Labor Agreement to cover construction activities for the project, and committing to paying prevailing wages.
