Nation's first offshore wind farm will begin producing power in Cape Cod waters this year

Even as questions continue to swirl around the future of three offshore wind projects proposed to bring power cables ashore on Cape Cod, another is getting close to producing its first wind-generated electricity.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is poised to set its initial trio of blades spinning after workers finished putting together the first of 62 GE Haliade-X Wind Turbine Generators, the companies announced Wednesday.

The 806-megawatt project, under construction in waters about 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard, is the nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind endeavor. Power cables that will carry electricity the wind farm generates to land were brought ashore at Barnstable's Covell Beach in January.

Cape lawmaker: U.S. wind energy future comes 'to fruition off our shores'

Completion of the first turbine is touted as a pivotal moment for offshore wind in New England, even amid the struggles of other projects. Avangrid's 804-megawatt Park City Wind and 1,232-megawatt Commonwealth Wind, and 2,400-megawatt SouthCoast Wind, owned jointly by Shell New Energies and Ocean Winds North America —have been buffeted by supply chain problems, increased expenses tied to the war in Ukraine, inflation and rising interest rates that have driven up costs.

“With the completion of Vineyard Wind’s first turbine, we are witnessing the country’s wind energy future come to fruition right off our shores,” said state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, a member of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, as part of Wednesday's announcement.

Calling successful construction of the first turbine an "impressive feat," Cyr also touted clean energy for Massachusetts residents, new job opportunities and economic growth for the region.

"Islanders and Cape Codders should be immensely proud to lead the nation in stemming the climate crisis," he said.

State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, shared the sentiment.

“This turbine represents years of hard work and also reminds us of the important work ahead to combat global warming and provide a livable planet for future generations," said Fernandes, also a member of the Legislature's telecommunications, utilities and energy panel.

The Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative says the turbine is good news.

"The (organization) celebrates the completion of the first turbine in the Vineyard Wind Project — the first scalable offshore wind farm in the United States, tapping the abundant renewable energy in our region," said Collaborative President Dorothy Savarese on Thursday. "This project, leveraging technology used safely and effectively worldwide, is an exciting first step toward achieving the goals of reducing carbon and combatting climate change.  Let’s take a moment to acknowledge this milestone and also recognize we need urgent action to address the critical threat that the climate crisis poses to Cape Cod."

How big is the wind turbine?

Vineyard Wind's General Electric Haliade-X turbines each include a monopile anchoring it to the seafloor, topped by a transitional piece at the surface, then a tower topped by a nacelle and three blades. Each blade is 107 meters, or almost the length of a football field including the end zones (109.7 meters). The height of each turbine is about the same as three Statues of Liberty stacked up, (about 850 feet) from blade tip to the water's surface.

According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, this scale is typical for offshore wind turbines. The greater heights and longer blades allow each turbine to create more energy more efficiently, therefore fewer turbines are needed to produce the same power that shorter turbines with shorter blades would generate.

According to Vineyard Wind, the structures represent "the largest turbine in the western world," each capable of outputting 13 megawatts — enough to power more than 6,000 homes and businesses. When the project is fully operational, it will generate 806 megawatts. That's enough to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses, according to the company.

How does an offshore wind turbine work?

Wind turbines work on a simple principle, according to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "Wind turns the propeller-like blades of a turbine around a rotor, which spins a generator, which creates electricity," the agency's website explains.

Specifically, the kinetic, or moving, energy of wind is converted into electricity using the aerodynamic force from the blades.

"When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag," according to the agency. "The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin."

The rotor, in turn, creates rotation in a generator that converts the mechanical energy into electricity. The power, which will be collected by an offshore substation before it is transmitted ashore through submarine cables, is run through on-shore substations and finally enters the power distribution grid.

In the case of offshore power, the electricity travels under the seabed at higher voltages than onshore because it is more efficient. On-shore substations put the power through a series of transformers to downgrade the voltage so it is compatible with the capacity of the distribution lines.

When will Vineyard Wind begin generating power?

Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said in Wednesday's announcement that first power delivery from Vineyard Wind is expected soon.

The project is expected to be fully operational by the middle of next year.

Work on the project began late last year, and installation of the first monopiles offshore began in June this year. The project's associated offshore substation was completed in July, and in early August the Environmental League of Massachusetts sponsored a boat excursion to the site, which included several state legislators and their staff members, as well as local officials, environmental activists, Avangrid employees, members of the media and others.

According to the company, the project is projected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year — the same effect as taking 325,000 cars off the road for a year.

What's the status of other offshore wind projects?

While lawmakers and other offshore wind supporters celebrate Vineyard Wind's advancement, three other projects proposed south of the Vineyard are presently becalmed.

Reacting to global and national economic turmoil that was affecting the viability of its Park City Wind project, Avangrid recently announced termination of its previously negotiated power purchase contract with utilities in Connecticut — an action taken following a failed attempt to renegotiate better terms.

In March, the company similarly pulled out of its contracts with Massachusetts utilities for Commonwealth Wind in favor of taking its chances with seeking a new agreement, under better terms, in the state's fourth wind procurement round, now underway.

SouthCoast Wind has taken the same action.

Power purchase agreements are contracts between renewable energy producers, like Avangrid, and buyers of the energy that's produced, like Eversource and National Grid. They are a required part of permitting determined by state energy facility siting boards.

The companies are paying millions in withdrawal penalties to utilities with which they previously negotiated agreements — $60 million for SouthCoast Wind, $48 million for Commonwealth Wind and $16 million for Park City Wind.

Despite the setback of starting over with power purchase contracts, the developers are optimistic about getting back on track.

After the Barnstable Town Council last week voted to pause further action on Avangrid's Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind projects for now, company spokesman Craig Gilvarg said, “Avangrid values our collaborative partnership with the town of Barnstable, and we look forward to building on our good working relationship with the town in the months and years ahead as we work to bring these critical renewable energy projects to the New England grid."

The Barnstable Council last week voted unanimously not only to pull back its prior authorization for Town Manager Mark Ells to begin negotiating a host community agreement for Commonwealth Wind, but also postponed officially signing off on certain easements for Park City Wind until the project's status is resolved in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Park City Wind is proposed to come ashore at the west end of Craigville Beach in Barnstable, and a landing at Barnstable's Dowses Beach is proposed for Commonwealth Wind. SouthCoast Wind has considered landing sites in Falmouth.

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world, in addition to news and features in Barnstable and Brewster. Reach her at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on X @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: First-ever offshore U.S. wind power to come out of Cape Cod this year