New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal's deep water berth to support offshore wind industry
NEW BEDFORD — The New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal has opened its first deep water berth after two years of demolition and construction, which will be used to support offshore wind.
The berth is part of Phase II of the operations and maintenance facility's development, and was designed specifically to accommodate offshore wind service vessels, according to a press release.
A 300-foot bulkhead has been installed and dredging has been done to improve the use of the berth for both domestic and international vessels.
The news came soon after Massachusetts officials made the state's selections known relative to the latest round of offshore wind project bidding. Massachusetts procured 2,678 megawatts from three different wind farm projects, all of which are connected to the SouthCoast region: SouthCoast Wind, New England Wind 1, and Vineyard Wind 2.
Offshore wind: Mass. picks more offshore wind projects. All three will rely heavily on New Bedford.
Terminal will host offshore workers, aid local economy
It's anticipated that once completed the terminal will host a monthly rotation of up to 300 offshore workers and will be a boon for the local economy, according to Andrew Saunders, New Bedford native and president of New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal.
“It’s great to be part of a project that is transforming a derelict power generating station into a state-of-the-art offshore wind hub able to support projects here in the U.S. Northeast,” Saunders said.
“All of the old, outdated buildings are now gone and the recently completed waterside improvements position us to be the gateway to the offshore wind lease blocks. The opening of this new deep-water berth is just the beginning with more waterside and land side improvements that will occur over the next few years."
Saunders added, “With the opening of the deep-water berth, a consistent circulation of industry workers will spend a few days in town every month spending their company dollars on local businesses. Physically and financially, it’s truly a breath of fresh air for New Bedford.”
State Pier proposal: Train New Bedford kids for a future in offshore wind industry.
City helps with dredging operation
The 27-acre private terminal is owned by Foss Offshore Wind and local business leaders.
The city of New Bedford facilitated state, local and private funds to dredge more than 80,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from the waters just off the site, according to the release.
This work was part of the city’s Phase V Dredge Program that allows for the removal of legacy contamination from decades past.
In all, the Phase V Dredge Program will remove and encapsulate more than 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from New Bedford harbor.
Terminal will become a national model
When complete, the terminal will include four large individual berths and a floating pier system that can accommodate up to 11 offshore wind construction and operations and maintenance vessels, according to the release.
The New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal will serve as a model that Foss intends to emulate in multiple East and West Coast markets as the wind industry grows over the coming years, according to Foss Offshore Wind President Joel Whitman in Boston.
“Our nation needs electricity and we need it from resources that don’t continue to send environmentally damaging materials into the atmosphere,” he said. “The terminal is an investment in the people and ports necessary to make this energy transition possible.”
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal's new berth to support offshore wind
