BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a global leader in green energy investment and in offshore wind development through its affiliate Vineyard Offshore, joined Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Martha’s Vineyard for a tour of the Operations and Maintenance facilities that will provide long-term support services for the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project. As part of the visit, which took place on Thursday, June 6, 2024, Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra joined Governor Healey to see the progress on two facilities – a newly constructed Marine Terminal, and an O&M Service Building on Beach Road – that will be critical to the successful operation of the wind farm while creating approximately 90 jobs. In 2022, Avangrid finalized an agreement to assume responsibility as the operations and management services provider for Vineyard Wind 1, the first large-scale offshore wind project in the United States.
“Governor Healey is a steadfast champion for clean energy, climate action, and historic Massachusetts communities like Martha’s Vineyard, so Avangrid was proud to join the Governor to tour the critical facilities that will serve as the base of operations for our first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “Locating our O&M headquarters in Vineyard Haven is a reflection the island’s proud history, as well as the important role this community will play in pioneering Massachusetts’ clean energy future. Avangrid looks forward to leading the operations and maintenance services for this first-in-the-nation project once it achieves commercial operations, and strengthening our bonds in the Martha’s Vineyard community for decades to come.”
Vineyard Wind broke ground on the facilities in 2022. The facilities will provide support services for the windfarm once it’s operational, creating 90 jobs while also bolstering the community’s environmental sustainability goals.
In 2022, Avangrid finalized the Operations and Maintenance Service Agreement and Asset Management Agreement, which designate Avangrid as the party responsible for overseeing the operation and management of the facility once construction is complete and commercial operations begin.
Through these agreements, Avangrid will provide services to the Vineyard Wind project and be the lead for the operations management of the wind farm, including the supervision of critical tasks such as turbine, cable and substation maintenance, coordination of contractors, 24/7 control center services, trading, and assets management.
Avangrid is hiring approximately 20 technically qualified employees, including key roles that will receive intensive training overseas through Iberdrola’s operational offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom and Europe, helping to prepare them to knowledgeably operate the groundbreaking U.S. windfarm.
In addition to O&M technicians, the facilities will employ people with a range of skillsets, such as site managers, planners, helicopter pilots, crew transfer vessel (CTV) support staff, and health, safety and environmental (HSE) managers, among other positions.
The Marine Terminal can support up to three Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). Two CTVs were in port on Thursday, which transport O&M technicians to the windfarm.
The O&M service building, located on Beach Road near the port, includes warehouse, storage, and office space. The building’s design incorporates sustainability and climate resiliency initiatives. It is elevated 10 feet above street level standing on steel piles, providing flood resiliency as well as parking. The building will also feature solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and bike parking.
Vineyard Wind also constructed a hangar at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport to house a helicopter that will service the project. Like the O&M service building, the hangar also includes sustainability initiatives, including an all-electric heating system.
Vineyard Wind has been actively working to fill positions with island residents, hosting multiple job fairs and weekly office hours. In December 2023, project shareholders announced that Vineyard Wind 1 has delivered nearly double of its commitment through the PLA by creating 937 union jobs through two years of construction.
Vineyard Wind began offshore construction in late 2022, achieved steel-in-the-water in June 2023, and completed the nation’s first offshore substation in July 2023. Construction flows through the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. In July 2021, Vineyard Wind signed the first Project Labor Agreement for an offshore wind project in the United States, which outlined the creation of 500 union jobs through the project.
An 806-megawatt project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road annually.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $45 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens – in 2024 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
