Vineyard Wind 1 just became the US’s largest operating offshore wind farm

Five more wind turbines just came online at Vineyard Wind 1, making it the largest operating offshore wind farm in the US.

Vineyard Wind 1 expands

Sustainable energy company Avangrid and green investors Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners today announced that the Vineyard Wind 1 project is now delivering more than 136 megawatts (MW) to the electric grid in Massachusetts. (New York’s South Fork Wind, the US’s first complete utility-scale offshore wind farm, is 132 MW.)

In February 2024, Vineyard Wind delivered approximately 68 MW from five turbines to the grid. Vineyard Wind 1 now has 10 turbines in operation, enough to power 64,000 homes and businesses.

Each GE Haliade-X 13 MW turbine has a 220-meter (722-foot) rotor, 107-meter (351-foot) blades, and is 248 meters (814 feet) tall – roughly 2.7 times taller than the Statue of Liberty. Each is capable of providing power to more than 6,000 homes and businesses.

The project currently has 47 foundations and transition pieces installed, as well as 21 wind turbines, and the installation of the 22nd turbine is underway. Once completed, the project will consist of 62 wind turbines. Additional power will be delivered to the grid sequentially, with each turbine starting production once it completes the commissioning process.

Vineyard Wind 1, which is 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, will be New England’s largest renewable energy facility once fully operational, delivering 806 MW – enough clean electricity to power 400,000 homes and businesses. It began offshore construction in late 2022, achieved steel-in-the-water in June 2023, and completed the US’s first offshore substation in July 2023.

In July 2021, Vineyard Wind signed the first Project Labor Agreement for offshore wind in the US, which outlined the creation of 500 union jobs. By December 2023, Vineyard Wind 1 had doubled its commitment by creating 937 union jobs through two years of construction.

Electrek’s Take

Avangrid doesn’t say what the project’s expected completion date is in this latest announcement. The $3.5 billion project was originally expected to reach its full power potential by mid-2024, but I can’t see 52 more wind turbines coming online before the end of summer, but more certainly will. However, I expect this project will gain momentum now that the first turbines are online.

This offshore wind farm will prove to be a fantastic clean energy asset in the face of New England’s winter peak demand. 

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