Vineyard Wind has already secured two lease areas from the federal government for its offshore wind project proposals |
Vineyard Wind LLC on Sept. 30 submitted a proposal to regulators in Connecticut to build up to 1,200 MW of offshore wind projects in response to that state's solicitation of offshore wind power.
Connecticut is among the states along the Eastern Seaboard that seek to develop offshore wind power as a part of ambitious renewable energy plans. On June 10, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law a bill that mandates the procurement of 2,000 MW of new offshore wind generation by 2030. The state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Aug. 16 released requests for proposals for such projects, with a deadline to submit bids by Sept. 30. The department did not respond to requests for the names of additional bidders.
Vineyard Wind said that, if selected, it will invest millions of dollars to convert a harbor in Bridgeport, Conn., to a shipping channel to be used as a staging area for constructing offshore wind projects.
Vineyard Wind has named the project Park City Wind, a nod to Bridgeport's nickname. The proposal includes a plan for 400 MW of offshore wind power capacity, with options to develop additional projects up to 1,200 MW, the company said. The turbines would be constructed in one of Vineyard Wind's two federal wind energy lease areas, south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The company said the lease areas are in the midst of the strongest winds on the East Coast and "would not be visible from any shoreline in Connecticut."
A joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S and Avangrid Inc.'s Avangrid Renewables LLC, Vineyard Wind is awaiting regulatory approval of its proposed 800-MW Vineyard Offshore Wind Project off Martha's Vineyard. It is also competing in Massachusetts' second offshore wind solicitation seeking proposals for up to 800 MW in capacity.
In 2018, Connecticut procured 304 MW of offshore wind capacity from the 704-MW Revolution Wind Offshore project, which is owned by Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy. States along the Eastern Seaboard are poised to add more than 19,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts published.

