'They need people now': New Bedford residents show keen interest in offshore wind jobs

NEW BEDFORD — The numbers associated with the Vineyard Wind project being readied to produce electricity off the New Bedford shore beginning in 2023 can be attention-grabbers.

• The 62 turbines, at 13 megawatts each, planted 40 miles offshore will generate energy for 400,000 homes, which is the equivalent of taking 300,000 cars off the road.

• Each turbine will utilize Haliade-X blades, which at 351 feet are longer than a football field. The 853-foot turbines are almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

• Just two blade revolutions will produce enough energy for one home's daily use.

However, as Dana Rebeiro, Vineyard Wind’s community liaison, ticked off the statistics during a meeting with the New Bedford City Council Tuesday to discuss project progress, one number stood out: "222."

That's the number of people who attended Vineyard Wind's New Bedford Offshore Wind Career Fair Sept. 14 at the New Bedford Harbor Hotel.

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And Vineyard Wind's Jennifer Cullen, senior manager of Labor Relations & Workforce Development, had some interesting numbers to go with that figure.

"We had 14 contractors there that were actively hiring for positions. They need people now, everything from welders and carpenters to GIS engineers."

She added that two-thirds of the people who responded to a post-fair survey said they found a job they were interested in, and would be submitting an application. She said Vineyard Wind will be adding links to its website to contractors looking to hire.

Rebeiro said the contractors were "thrilled" with the turnout, and were already calling for another job fair to be held.

She added, "Basically, we wanted to show the contractors that New Bedford is open and ready for business — and we got that message across."

The councilors who attended the fair were also impressed.

Councilor Derek Baptiste said, "It was good to see that many people amped up, and looking forward to something coming here. Just to see people upbeat, and not be down, thinking everything is going bad, was refreshing."

Councilor Naomi Carney said, "When I got there at the very beginning there was a line out the door, right from the start, right from jump street."

Councilor Scott J. Lima said, "I didn't expect there to be that much buzz but there was a lot of buzz there, a lot of people. It was open and welcoming and I'm so glad you did it. The folks from New Bedford were there. I hope you do more. It was great."

Councilor Brian Gomes, who had called for the update meeting, said the turnout showed the level of interest New Bedford residents have in the jobs being created. The business community is also watching the project's progress, he said, and can benefit from the revenue opportunities it will bring.

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Offshore wind project will touch many sectors of economy

Like the silken tendrils of a spider's web linking in all directions, Rebeiro said, the Vineyard Wind project will touch various sectors of the New Bedford economy, from food services to fuel.

"You've got all those lines," she said. "There are so many ways other people can tie in and feel the boom of wind — which is something that our city needs.

"The supply chain is complex," said Cullen, which is a good thing for job creation. Atop is Vineyard Wind and its two and three-tier suppliers of goods and services. Then come local businesses filling tiers for other needs.

"We focus on developers but the supply chain is also the existing companies that provide services into the maritime industry that already exist — and provide services we are going to need," she said.

Cullen added, "At our peak, when we are well under construction, and the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal is bustling and full of turbine components, we'll have about 120 Vineyard Wind direct jobs right here in New Bedford. Those will be split across the facilities that will be operating to perform construction for the project."

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The types of jobs that will be created

The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal within the Port of New Bedford was purchased by the Mass. Clean Energy Center specifically to be redeveloped for offshore wind turbine staging, she said. "The turbines will come in pieces and they'll be pre-assembled. We will do as much work as we can on land before it goes off shore. It's safer and faster to do it on land."

Most of the jobs created will be union jobs, and that includes the 20 to 25 crew members ferrying workers out to the turbine sites via crew transfer vessels.

"At the Marine Commerce Terminal we'll also be operating our marine coordination center," Cullen said. "So we're going to have a lot of vessels, a lot of things happening on the project at any given time. We'll be running all those operations out of New Bedford."

The construction workers ferried out to the sites will also be union workers, and their schedule will be 12-hour days, up to seven days a week, providing ample overtime money, she said.

Vineyard Wind is also in the final stages of negotiating an additional lease site in New Bedford. "So we're expecting we'll be utilizing Pope's Island for our crew transfer vessels," Cullen said.

The companies producing the vessels have set up offices in New Bedford, and shipyards in Somerset and across the border in Rhode Island will be hiring to build those vessels.

Other contractors will be hired for long-term maintenance once the wind farm goes operational. "We have to take care of the turbines for the next 25 to 30 years, and some of those contractors will be localizing in New Bedford, as well," she said.

Another $1 million in upgrades will be needed at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, Cullen said. Mass. Clean Energy Center is contracting that work, and they're looking to source the construction in companies "as locally as we can find them."

Vineyard Wind's local headquarters at the Bank of America building on Pleasant Street already has 12 full-time employees.

And more wind projects are waiting in the wings following Vineyard Wind.

Rebeiro said, Vineyard Wind "will be generating clean renewable energy, the first of many projects for this area, and we're first. New Bedford is first."

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Offshore wind jobs piquing New Bedford resident interest