Vineyard Wind is allocating two USD 50,000 grants to support the development of port facilities that would service the offshore wind industry in Massachusetts, U.S.
The first grant is awarded to the New Bedford Port Authority for developing publicly-owned port facilities that could help support shore-based operations of the local offshore wind industry.
According to Vineyard Wind, the funding will support the necessary technical consultants and industry experts needed to execute engineering studies for unlocking opportunities for growth and development along the New Bedford Harbor waterfront.
The investment to complete this work is expected to help facilitate improvements needed to better prepare waterfront land and port facilities in the New Bedford Harbor area.
Furthermore, the Fall River Redevelopment Authority (FRRDA) secured a USD 50,000 grant to study the potential future use of circa 3.5ha of a 6-acre parcel that lies within the Fall River Waterfront Urban Renewal Plan area.
The study will explore the opportunity of redeveloping the pier for the offshore wind industry. Should the site be upgraded after the research, a transformed pier may serve as a base to store components and support technicians responsible for working on the installation and maintenance of future Vineyard Wind projects.
It could also feature docks for crew transfer vessels (CTVs) which will transport crew members to and from the offshore site and host warehouse operations for necessary spares and materials, Vineyard Wind said.
Vineyard Wind will feature MHI Vestas 9.5MW turbines located some 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The 800MW project was expected to begin construction this year and be operational by 2022, however, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) delayed the publication of the Federal Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).