Avangrid, Inc., a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced it has been awarded 791 Megawatts (MW) by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the multi-state regional offshore wind solicitation. New England Wind 1 is an offshore wind development located in federal lease area OCS-A-0534, roughly 30 miles south of Barnstable, Massachusetts and making landfall under the Craigville Beach parking lot in Barnstable.
“We are grateful to Governor Healey, Lt. Governor Driscoll, and the leadership of the entire administration in advancing energy reliability and climate goals at this historic moment,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “New England Wind 1 is positioned to deliver an urgent energy, climate, and economic solution to Massachusetts, and we look forward to working with the Commonwealth, Tribal Nations, organized labor, and our community partners moving forward.”
New England Wind 1 will produce enough electricity to power approximately 400,000 homes and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 300,000 gasoline-based cars off the road annually. The project will create more than 4,400 full-time equivalent jobs and bring $3 billion of local investment, including a new world class marshalling port in Salem, MA and a new offshore wind manufacturing facility in New Bedford, MA. If a power purchase agreement is signed and approved, then the project can begin construction in 2025 and reach full commercial operation in 2029.
The project will border VW1, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project currently under construction 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The project will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent job years, save customers $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation. As part of the Iberdrola group, VW1 will join the global network of offshore wind projects in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Iberdrola currently operates approximately 2.3 GW of offshore wind capacity globally and is on-target to have nearly 5 GW installed by 2026. Earlier this week, Iberdrola secured a contract for their proposed East Anglia Two offshore wind farm project in the UK, which has a total capacity of 963 MW.
Avangrid’s renewable portfolio includes more than 75 projects spread across 22 states. It has over 9 Gigawatts of installed wind and solar capacity.
