'Our generation's Hoover Dam.' Getting up close to Vineyard Wind as turbines are built

Out past Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, where waves swirl and crash spectacularly against sandbars in the shoals, the ocean rises and falls around a massive, bright yellow structure that one day, soon, will serve as the foundation for a turbine tower that will spin wind into power.

Affixed to the shallow floor of the continental shelf, it is the first and northernmost in a group of six now rising out of the ocean, the others appearing beyond it as distant silhouettes, each separated by one nautical mile of open water.

Standing on the upper deck of the Captain John & Son II, one of the vessels in the Captain John's charter fleet, state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, on Wednesday morning leaned on the railing, pulled off his sunglasses, and squinted as the cylindrical constructions came into view, as if to ensure they were real and not a weird refraction of light on his lenses.

"It's amazing to see this here," he said, and took out his iPhone to snap a photo of his first in-person view of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm, a joint project of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, during a tour of the in-progress site.

The Environmental League of Massachusetts sponsored the boat excursion, which included several state legislators and their staff members, as well as local officials, environmental activists, Avangrid employees, members of the media, and others.

A Massachusetts offshore wind farm south of Cape Cod

The foundational structures the group viewed are part of what will eventually number 62 wind turbines planned for the 806-megawatt Vineyard Wind 1 project — the first commercial-scale offshore project in the nation — now under construction about 23 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard, out where the island is a barely discernable smudge on the horizon.

For Roy, co-chair of the state Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, seeing the beginnings of the wind farm, including the remotely operated offshore substation that will relay wind-generated power to the mainland via submarine cables, is the realization of a decade of work. It's also the start of addressing worrisome climate change, as well as building energy independence and developing new jobs.

"When I look at this, I think of the Hoover Dam that was built back in the 1930s to power the western states. This is our generation's Hoover Dam, right here off Massachusetts," Roy said.

'A fight to save the planet'

Until now, the effort to develop a "robust, clean energy source" in waters off Massachusetts has been an idea existing on paper, first discussed in the early 2000s.

"It's the first time that the abstract has become real," said state Sen. Michael Barrett, D-Lexington, co-chair of the utilities and energy committee with Roy who also joined Wednesday's tour.

"This is what Massachusetts needs, and what the climate needs," Roy said, not to mention being "a big deal" for the nation and "a testament to what visionary thinking can do."

Barrett agreed, saying it's an important endeavor in the ongoing "fight to save the planet."

To create clean wind energy, he said, "is literally the work of our lifetimes."

Offshore wind creates jobs in Massachusetts

State Rep. Kip Diggs, D-Barnstable, said he, too, was impressed to see the Vineyard Wind site taking shape. "It's amazing being the first ones to do this," he said.

Though he recognized there are issues to work through with other Avangrid wind projects presently in early permitting stages, he said the Vineyard Wind project is an example of how offshore wind can be a benefit, combating the climate problem, providing jobs, and bringing new revenue to Barnstable as a host community to help pay for needed infrastructure, like sewers.

Susannah Hatch, clean energy policy director for the Environmental League and regional lead with New England Offshore Wind, was also on the tour Wednesday. She said the organizations have been advocating for offshore wind "for a long time" and their members are excited to see work under way.

"We support responsible development of offshore wind and are really working to make sure offshore wind not only helps address the climate crisis," but also provides needed jobs, she said.

Offshore turbines could begin generating power by October

Saygin "Sy" Oytan, Avangrid chief operating officer for offshore wind, said the project's turbine blades and tower parts are already in New Bedford, and will soon start getting loaded onto barges and transported offshore for installation. The first ones will be erected before summer's end and will begin generating power as soon as October.

"Final commercial operation will be mid-2024," he said.

The project carries a price tag of $4 billion

It hasn't been an easy financial row to hoe. Oytan acknowledged that most offshore wind projects are challenged globally right now, facing supply chain issues, rising costs tied to the war in Ukraine, inflation, rising interest rates, and burgeoning worldwide interest in offshore wind development.

Two more Avangrid projects in Cape waters: Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind

Avangrid has two other projects proposed in the waters south of the Vineyard: its 804-megawatt Park City Wind project associated with Rhode Island with a proposed landing at Craigville Beach in Barnstable, and its 1,232-megawatt Commonwealth Wind project eyed for landing at Dowses Beach in Barnstable.

Because of unforeseen cost increases, the company elected to end its previous procurement contract for Commonwealth Wind in favor of re-bidding the project under new terms, though permitting is continuing. The company is also hoping to work with Rhode Island on new terms for the Park City project.

For the Commonwealth Wind project, Oytan said, "we are hoping to bid for the next solicitation in Massachusetts."

Roy said the state has "a very large procurement coming up in January with up to an additional 3,600 megawatts" up for grabs.

"We're hoping we'll get multiple bids for the next round," he said, noting other companies showing interest include Equinor and Orsted.

Opposition to offshore wind on Cape Cod

A number of Barnstable residents, particularly in the villages of Osterville and Centerville, have raised concerns about plans related to the Commonwealth Wind and Park City Wind projects and questioned the continuation of permitting even while new contracts are sought.

The ad hoc group called Save Greater Dowses Beach opposes plans for the Commonwealth Wind cables to come ashore under the beach, saying the estuarine environment is too fragile, and Centerville residents are concerned about bringing cables under the Centerville River from the west end of Craigville Beach.

Critics also argue for a more consolidated approach to routing cables under the seabed for upcoming projects, and question the wisdom of continuing to develop offshore wind without first ensuring the power grid is ready to distribute the power.

Roy said he's had concerns about the delays in off-shore wind development, but he's confident the companies will "get back on track."

He also acknowledged concerns about the power grid, which he agrees "needs improvement." For that reason, the legislature has formed the Transmission Planning Working Group and the Grid Modernization Advisory Council "to take the steps necessary to modernize our grid," Roy said.

Part of the solution, he said, could be the Cape Cod Canal peaker power station.

"We're being proactive in addressing the problem," he said.

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world. Reach her at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on Twitter @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Turbines for Vineyard Wind farm south of Cape Cod under construction