Iberdrola started on Tuesday the installation work for the first offshore wind farm in the US, located on the east coast of the country. A ship specialized in this type of work arrived at the location of Vineyard Wind 1, 24 kilometers south of the coast of Martha's Vineyard and about 55 km south of the Cape Cod peninsula.
In a first action, the foundations of what will be the marine substation of the wind farm will be laid, which in the future will collect the energy produced and channel it to land, and the necessary parts for the installation of the piles on which they will later be supported. the 62 wind turbines that will make up the park.
When the project comes into operation, which is scheduled for 2024, it will have a capacity of 800 MW, which will produce enough clean energy to cover the energy needs of more than 400,000 homes and companies throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, comments from Iberdrola. This is a project that will prevent the emission of more than 1.6 million tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of removing 325,000 vehicles from the roads, “says the company.
Iberdrola, through Avangrid Renewables, participates in the development of the park together with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through a 50-50 joint venture that foresees an investment of 3,000 million dollars that already has a guaranteed return through contracts with the three Major Massachusetts Electric Companies.
Once the construction of the park has been completed and its commercial operation begins, Iberdrola will take the lead in the exploitation phase of the project and will assume responsibility for controlling the operation and management of the facility.
Vineyard WInd I will help create 3,600 full-time equivalent jobs. Among them, those generated in the Spanish company Windar Renovables, one of the main suppliers of the project.
The Asturian woman sent the first six transition pieces from Avilés last month. The contract, which has an amount close to 100 million euros, will provide the park with 62 transition pieces that are creating the creation of nearly 400 jobs (500 at peak occupancy) at its facilities in Asturias.
The park will also have 62 turbines - each one as tall as the Torre de Cristal, the tallest skyscraper in Spain and the fourth in the European Union. and with blades the length of a football field.
Iberdrola's commitment to renewables is reflected in its record investment plan of 47,000 million euros in the 2023-2025 period, of which 17,000 million will be allocated to the renewable business. With these investments, the installed renewable capacity will increase by 12,100 MW, up to 52,000 MW in 2025 —6,300 MW of photovoltaic, 3,100 MW of onshore wind, 1,800 MW of offshore, 700 MW of batteries and 200 MW of hydraulics.
