The big push for offshore wind in the US
We establish offshore wind power in the United States with the Vineyard Wind 1 project
Iberdrola is leading the development of offshore wind power in the United States with the takeover of Vineyard Wind 1, which with a capacity of 800 megawatts (MW) will become the largest offshore wind farm in the United States and whose development will boost local employment.
The park is 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard and 34 miles south of the Cape Cod Peninsula.
Progress in the United States
The United States' growth potential in offshore wind continues unabated. Just as it has established itself in onshore wind and solar energy production in recent years, the country is now leading the way in offshore wind development, with a target of installing 30 GW of this technology by 2030. This is a breakthrough capable of creating new job opportunities, boosting clean energy and mitigating climate change.
As a major player in the promotion of renewable energies in the United States, the Iberdrola group is promoting important initiatives in the country, such as the Vineyard Wind 1 project. The complex, which is scheduled to come into operation in 2024, will be the first large offshore wind farm in the US and will generate enough wind energy to cover the demand of more than 400,000 homes and businesses.
The logistics for the construction of Vineyard Wind 1, which started construction in November 2021, is a challenge for the Iberdrola Group. Most of the components of our Vineyard Wind project will come from overseas, be assembled here, deployed on barges and brought to the site of the complex, located about 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard and 34 miles south of the Cape Cod Peninsula.
General Electric Renewable Energy's Haliade-X wind turbine generators, the most powerful in operation to date, will be used for this project. The largest blades ever seen in the United States will be used, at 350 feet or 110 metres long. A single rotation of a 13 MW turbine can power a Massachusetts household for an entire day.
Vineyard Wind 1 will be a revolutionary project that will accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy in the United States. In fact, its implementation will prevent the emission of more than 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 vehicles off the road.
In addition, Avangrid, Iberdrola's US subsidiary, hopes to boost the local job market with the installation of Vineyard Wind 1 in US waters. The offshore wind farm will create 3,600 full-time equivalent jobs, and at least 500 of those created during the construction phase of the project are guaranteed to be filled by local staff, mainly workers from the port of New Bedford, who will move the necessary components by sea.
Offshore wind power, key to Iberdrola's growth
Just as the Iberdrola group pioneered the development of onshore wind power more than two decades ago, the company is now leading the development of this technology, one of the keys to the company's growth.
Thus, of the 7,000 MW of wind energy currently under construction or secured with PPAs, more than 5,500 MW (78.5 %) correspond to offshore projects. Iberdrola already has three large offshore complexes in operation: East Anglia ONE and West of Duddon Sands in the United Kingdom (more than 1,100 MW together) and Wikinger (350 MW) in Germany.
In the past year, Iberdrola has invested in new growth platforms in other countries such as Poland, Sweden, Ireland, Japan and Australia, increasing the size of the group's global offshore wind portfolio to 31,700 MW.
Source: FT