Partnership With The City of Salem And Crowley Maritime Corporation To Transform Harbor Into Offshore Wind Port
Partnership With The City of Salem And Crowley Maritime Corporation To Transform Harbor Into Offshore Wind Port
(SALEM, MA) – Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), today announced that the company has entered into an agreement with the City of Salem and Crowley Maritime Corporation to create a public-private partnership aimed at establishing Salem Harbor as the state’s second major offshore wind port. The agreement, part of the “Commonwealth Wind” proposal, is contingent upon the company winning an award by the state of Massachusetts, which is currently evaluating offshore wind procurement bids.
Vineyard Wind estimates that the project would create up to an estimated 400 full time equivalent (FTE) job years during the revitalization of the port and up to another 500 FTEs over the first five years of operation for construction and staging for wind projects and also day-to-day port operations, for a total of 900 FTE job years.
“As offshore wind continues to expand, new purpose-built ports will be key to the success of this industry. By constructing the nation’s first purpose-built offshore wind port in New Bedford, Massachusetts has been leading the way. With a new offshore wind port in Salem, the Commonwealth can ensure that it is ready to face the demands of a rapidly growing industry” said Lars T. Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind. “With both New Bedford and Salem capable of delivering port operations needed for offshore wind, the state can ensure that both the South Coast and the North Shore can benefit from the creation of new, highly skilled and good paying jobs, something that will cement Massachusetts’ position as a leader in the new and growing offshore wind industry.”
“This partnership is a great example of how sites that once supported coal can be transformed into sustainable infrastructure to support the vital clean energy transition,” said Bill White, Head of Offshore Wind for Avangrid Renewables. “Commonwealth Wind is a transformational project that will create good jobs, economic opportunity and clean electricity for Massachusetts, facilitated by this important partnership with the City of Salem and Crowley.”
Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Crowley Maritime Corporation, through its New Energy subsidiary Crowley Wind Services, will purchase the 42 acres surrounding Salem Harbor Station, currently owned by a subsidiary of Footprint Power LLC, and will serve as the long-term offshore wind port operator for the site. Vineyard Wind’s partners (Avangrid Renewables & CIP) will serve as the port’s anchor tenants, utilizing the property for the Commonwealth Wind project as well as other projects in the company’s portfolio.
The Commonwealth Wind project intends to use the site for turbine assembly and staging activities, utilizing the site to store and assemble components – including blades, nacelles, and tower sections – as they are prepared for offshore installation. Given Salem Harbor’s deep-water port and unrestricted height access to accommodate large-scale wind turbine installation vessels, Vineyard Wind sees Salem Harbor as a necessary addition to support the offshore wind industry within the Commonwealth and across the region.
*Vessels to be utilized by Crowley Maritime to service the offshore wind industry (Credit: Crowley)
Both Vineyard Wind and Crowley will work alongside the City of Salem to engage in a robust community outreach and listening process to seek input and build support for this innovative partnership. The parties are committed to jointly developing a local community benefit agreement to safeguard the City’s long-term interests, while working with residents and businesses to identify local supply chain and workforce development opportunities.
“I am so pleased to welcome Vineyard Wind and Crowley Maritime here to Salem,” said Mayor Kimberley Driscoll. “For centuries, when Salem looked toward its future, it looked toward the sea. This site, in particular, has provided the electricity that has powered our community and our Commonwealth for generations. Today, with this announcement, that legacy can continue with a new focus on a clean energy future, based on renewable power and with a shared commitment to positive action to mitigate climate change. In addition, this project would provide a significant expansion to our commercial tax base and create hundreds of clean energy jobs, right here in Salem. I’m looking forward to working with the Vineyard and Crowley teams, as well as our own local stakeholders here in the community, as this exciting new opportunity moves ahead.”
“This partnership reinforces Crowley’s position as a total lifecycle service provider in the offshore wind sector,” said Jeff Andreini, Vice President, Crowley New Energy. “We look forward to working with Vineyard Wind and the City of Salem and providing the highest level of service in order to make Salem Harbor a leading provider in the offshore wind supply chain.”
“This is a critical opportunity for Salem to join offshore wind production in the Commonwealth,” said State Senator Joan Lovely. “Salem Harbor’s deep-port provides an ideal site for offshore wind production and supports regional and statewide efforts to establish reliable renewable energy resources to combat climate change. The partnership between Salem, Vineyard Wind and Crowley Maritime will boost our state's economy while preserving the long-term interests of our community.”
“This proposal represents an exciting and generational opportunity in getting us on the road to renewable clean energy,” said State Representative Paul Tucker. “The transformation of this site from a coal fired plant to a major clean energy producer is nothing short of extraordinary.”
Following the redevelopment of Salem Harbor, Avangrid Renewables will be the first tenant to utilize the site to assemble and deploy offshore wind turbines for Commonwealth Wind and future projects. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will be the second tenant to utilize the Terminal to assemble and deploy turbines for their future projects.
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About Vineyard Wind
Vineyard Wind LLC is an offshore wind development company seeking to build the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the U.S., to be located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is 50 percent owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50 percent by Avangrid Renewables.
About Commonwealth Wind
Commonwealth Wind is a newly proposed offshore wind project that submitted a response on September 16, 2021 to Massachusetts’ third competitive offshore wind solicitation enabled by Section 83 C of the Green Communities Act, authorized in 2016. If awarded, Commonwealth Wind will be developed in an area 22 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard that was designated by the federal government in 2015 following a multi-year stakeholder process. Commonwealth Wind can deliver up to 1200 MW of clean and affordable energy to Massachusetts, power 750,000 homes in Massachusetts, create over 11,000 jobs (FTE), catalyze hundreds of millions of investments in offshore wind infrastructure, and deliver substantial commitments to environmental justice communities.
About Avangrid Renewables
Avangrid Renewables, LLC is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), is a leading developer, owner and operator of renewable energy facilities in the United States with an eight gigawatt portfolio of onshore wind and solar projects across 22 states. Avangrid Renewables’ offshore wind business is pioneering this new industry with a development pipeline of five gigawatts off the East Coast. AVANGRID is part of the IBERDROLA Group, a global energy pioneer with the largest renewable asset base of any company in the world. Avangrid Renewables is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and its offshore wind business is located in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.avangridrenewables.com.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) is a fund management company focused on energy infrastructure including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity and storage, and other energy assets like Power-to-X. CIP is one of the largest financial sponsors in offshore wind globally, and a first mover in the US offshore wind maket. In the US, CIP has been involved in the development, construction and operations of more than 12 GW of renewable energy projects.
CIP manages eight funds and has approximately EUR 16 billion under management. PensionDanmark was founding and sole investor in CI I and CI A I. Today CIP’s funds have approximately 100 international institutional investors from the Nordics, Continental Europe, the UK, Israel, Asia, Australia, and North America and multi-lateral organizations e.g. EIB.
CIP was founded in 2012 by senior executives from the energy industry in cooperation with PensionDanmark. CIP has approximately 250 employees and offices in Copenhagen, Hamburg, New York, Tokyo, Utrecht, and London. For further information, visit www.cip.dk
About Crowley Maritime Corporation
Crowley Maritime Corporation is a privately held, U.S.-owned and -operated maritime, energy and logistics solutions company serving commercial and government sectors with more than $2.5 billion in annual revenues, over 160 vessels mostly in the Jones Act fleet and approximately 6,300 employees around the world – employing more U.S. mariners than any other company. The Crowley enterprise has invested more than $3 billion in maritime transport, which is the backbone of global trade and the global economy. As a global ship owner-operator and services provider with nearly 130 years of innovation and a commitment to sustainability, the company serves customers in 35 nations and island territories through four business units: Crowley Logistics, Crowley Shipping, Crowley Solutions and Crowley Fuels. Additional information about Crowley, its business units and subsidiaries can be found at www.crowley.com.
