Iberdrola reports that the Vineyard Wind 1 project, the United States’ first large-scale offshore wind initiative, has begun its operation. The offshore facility, with a nominal capacity of 806 MW, is delivering green energy as the construction and commissioning phases advance. The project marks a milestone in North American offshore wind, demonstrating how tech, policy, and private investment can align to power hundreds of thousands of homes in Massachusetts and surrounding areas. The announcement highlighted the project’s significance for clean energy expansion in the United States.
The Vineyard Wind 1 project is expected to reach full operation with five turbines during the first half of the year. It has attracted an investment of about 3,000 million dollars, and its energy outputs are secured through long-term contracts with the state’s major electric utilities. Construction began in 2021, and once fully operational, the wind farm is projected to prevent more than 1.6 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, an effect roughly equivalent to removing 325,000 vehicles from the roads.
Each turbine features components manufactured by Windar Renovables, an Asturian company, with the installations estimated to serve over 6,000 homes and businesses. The turbines have a nominal capacity of 13 MW each and comprise a tower, three blades, and a nacelle. Iberdrola has underscored that these will be among the largest turbines in the Western world, capable of powering a Massachusetts home for an entire day with a single rotation.
The project represents a historic step in clean offshore wind energy for the Massachusetts grid and signals a new era for the nation’s offshore wind industry. The leadership team emphasized ongoing collaboration with partners to ensure the project’s capacity is fully realized and integrated into the regional grid. The Avangrid subsidiary, Iberdrola USA, highlighted the milestone as a defining moment for climate action and the offshore wind sector in the United States.
Earlier announcements noted a financial package totaling roughly 1.2 billion dollars to finance Vineyard Wind 1, marking a first-of-its-kind agreement for commercial-scale offshore wind energy backed by US-based banks. The involvement of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners as a co-owner underscores strong private-sector confidence in the project’s prospects.
Windar Renovables led the production of 62 turbine foundations. The contract, valued near 100 million euros, supported the creation of about 400 jobs at its Asturias facilities. Prysmian Group, the Italian company, managed the submarine cable system that links the offshore wind farm to the continental United States grid, with a cumulative cable length exceeding 134 kilometers of high-voltage cable. Southwire, an American firm, handled the terrestrial high-voltage cable design, production, and installation over more than 51 kilometers.
By mid-2023, the marine substation for Vineyard Wind 1 was completed, representing Iberdrola’s first such installation in the United States and the sixth worldwide. This landmark substation, weighing around 5,000 tonnes, stands as the largest facility the company has built to date.
Iberdrola commits to the 2025 plan
Iberdrola has positioned offshore wind energy as a central component of its renewable portfolio, which already exceeds 30 GW and continues to grow with new projects across Poland, Sweden, Ireland, the United States, Brazil, the Philippines, and Japan. The company has reiterated its plan to reach 3,100 MW of offshore wind capacity in operation by 2025, supported by flagship sites such as Vineyard Wind 1, the East Anglia Hub in the United Kingdom, Saint-Brieuc in France, and the trio of Baltic projects Wikinger, Baltic Eagle, and Windanker. These efforts align with broader climate and energy objectives and reflect the company’s ongoing commitment to scaling clean energy infrastructure in North America and beyond.