Avangrid Hosts Federal Leadership at New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement officials tour control and marine operations centers and staging activities for first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project
BOSTON, Mass. — Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, hosted Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Kevin Sligh and other agency leadership for a tour of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. The Terminal serves as the staging port and offshore control and marine coordination center for the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project.
“The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is the foundation for our operations in pioneering Vineyard Wind 1, the first large-scale offshore wind project in the United States,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “Our team was grateful for the opportunity to showcase the groundbreaking operations taking place at the port to BSEE Director Sligh and his staff, highlighting the hard work of the men and women building this historic project. Our success on Vineyard Wind 1 is not possible without strong support and collaboration from our federal partners, and we look forward to continued engagement with BSEE as the project moves to the operational stage.”
“The control and marine coordination centers we visited today provide vital information to developers about the performance of their windfarms, and they will also be critical to BSEE in our role as the lead federal regulator for ensuring safe and environmentally responsible offshore wind operations,” said BSEE Director Kevin Sligh. “The BSEE team is currently evaluating the centers and exploring ways to perform oversight of activities in a sound and practical way while allowing the developers to maximize power production and satisfy their regulatory obligations.”
The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal serves as the staging and assembly port for turbine components, and the central command for assigning and tracking working vessels and monitoring personnel working offshore. Operations at the terminal are vital to ensuring safe, coordinated operations, and allowing the operator to remain aware of all vessel activities and needs.
The Vineyard Wind 1 control center, which is housed in conjunction with the marine coordination center, serves as point for the management of assets located miles away offshore.
While touring the centers, BSEE leaders also visited the staging port where the turbine components – blades, tower, and nacelles – are stored and assembled prior to being shipped offshore for installation.
From the outset of this project, Vineyard Wind recognized the importance of building and supporting a workforce of local, highly skilled, and diverse tradespeople. The valuable collaboration with union leadership on this project is a prime example of how this new industry can be a responsive member of the communities it serves, ensuring accessible and family-sustaining careers.
Vineyard Wind began offshore construction in late 2022, achieved steel-in-the-water in June, and completed the nation’s first offshore substation in July. 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 though the project. 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.
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 $44 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 in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. 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.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.