Deepwater Wind Eyeing Massachusetts’ South Coast for Major Offshore Wind Construction Activity
300+ Local Workers Will Build Wind Turbine Foundations; Boat Builders
Needed for Specialty Crew Vessels
NEW BEDFORD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Deepwater Wind will assemble the wind turbine foundations for its
Revolution Wind in Massachusetts, and it has identified three South
Coast cities – New Bedford, Fall River and Somerset – as possible
locations for this major fabrication activity, the company is announcing
today.
Deepwater Wind is committed to building a local workforce and supply
chain for its 400-megawatt Revolution Wind project, now under review by
state and utility officials. Today’s announcements represent the next
steps in Deepwater Wind’s plans to create 2,300 regional jobs and nearly $300
million in regional economic impact.
“No company is more committed to building a local offshore wind
workforce than us,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski. “We
launched America’s offshore wind industry right here in our backyard. We
know how to build offshore wind in the U.S. in the right way, and our
smart approach will be the most affordable solution for the
Commonwealth. This is about building a real industry that lasts.”
The construction activity will involve welding, assembly, painting,
commissioning and related work for the 1,500-ton steel foundations
supporting the turbine towers. This foundation-related work will create
more than 300 direct jobs for local construction workers during
Revolution Wind’s construction period. An additional 600 indirect and
induced jobs will support this effort.
In addition, Deepwater Wind is now actively seeking proposals from
Massachusetts boat builders for the construction of purpose-built
crew vessels for Revolution Wind. Several dozen workers are expected
to build the first of these vessels at a local boat-building facility,
and another dozen workers will operate this specialty vessel over the
life of Revolution Wind. (Deepwater Wind commissioned America’s only
offshore wind crew vessel – Atlantic Wind Transfer’s Atlantic Pioneer
– to serve the Block Island Wind Farm.)
The company will issue a formal Request for Information to local
suppliers in the coming weeks. Deepwater Wind’s additional wind farms
serving Massachusetts will require the construction of additional
vessels.
These commitments are in addition to Deepwater Wind’s
previously-announced plans to use the New Bedford Marine Commerce
Terminal for significant construction and staging operations, and to pay
$500,000 per year to the New Bedford Port Authority to use the facility.
During construction, the turbine marshaling activity in New Bedford is
expected to support approximately 700 direct regional construction
jobs.
“Deepwater Wind is building a sustainable industry on the South Coast of
Massachusetts,” said Matthew Morrissey, Deepwater Wind Vice President
Massachusetts. “With Revolution Wind, we are demonstrating that we can
build the industry in Massachusetts while enhancing competition and
keeping costs low.”
The Revolution Wind project will be built in Deepwater Wind’s federal
lease site southwest of Martha’s Vineyard. If approved, local
construction work on Revolution Wind would begin in 2020, with the
project in operations in 2023. Survey work is already underway at
Deepwater Wind’s offshore lease area.
Revolution Wind will deliver “baseload” power, allowing a utility-scale
renewable energy project for the first time to replace the retiring
fossil fuel-fired power plants closing across the region.
Revolution Wind will be capable of delivering clean energy to
Massachusetts utilities when it’s needed most, during peak hours of
demand on the regional electric grid. A partnership with FirstLight
Power, using its Northfield Mountain hydroelectric pumped storage in
Northfield, Massachusetts, makes this peak power offering possible. This
is the largest pairing of hydroelectric pumped storage and offshore wind
in the world.
The Revolution Wind offshore wind farm will also be paired with a
first-of-its-kind offshore transmission backbone. Deepwater Wind is
partnering with National Grid Ventures on an expandable offshore
transmission network that supports not just Revolution Wind, but also
future offshore wind farms, even if they’re built by our competitors.
This cooperation is in the best interest of Massachusetts electric
customers because it will reduce the amount of electrical infrastructure
needed to support the state’s 1,600 MW offshore wind goal. Instead of
each subsequent developer building its own standalone cable network,
other offshore wind companies could use expandable infrastructure
already installed for Revolution Wind, reducing project costs and saving
ratepayers money.
About Deepwater Wind
Deepwater Wind is America’s leading offshore wind developer and the only
company operating an offshore wind farm in the United States. The
Company is actively planning offshore wind projects to serve multiple
East Coast markets located 15 or more miles offshore, including New
York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. The
Company’s Block Island Wind Farm is America’s first offshore wind farm.
Visit www.dwwind.com
for more info.
Contacts
For Deepwater Wind
Meaghan Wims, 401-278-4434
mwims@duffyshanley.com