Construction work can restart on the 95-per-cent-complete Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm after the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a decision to allow full activities to resume in the Vineyard Wind lease area on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
This is the fourth of the five offshore wind projects under construction in the US that were paused to be granted the relief. Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind is still subject to the suspension , with a hearing date set for 2 February.
Vineyard Wind, a 50:50 joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), filed a legal challenge to the suspension order on 15 January. The court’s decision stays the suspension order, while the legal process proceeds.
“Vineyard Wind will focus on working in coordination with its contractors, the federal government, and other relevant stakeholders and authorities to safely restart activities, as it continues to deliver a critical source of new power to the New England region”, the developer said on 27 January.
In its complaint filed with the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Vineyard Wind said that only one full wind turbine was left to be installed at the project site, along with blade replacement on ten turbines and commissioning of the final 18 turbines.
At the time the US Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a stop-work order, the 806 MW Vineyard Wind 1 was planned to be completed by 31 March and start delivering power at full capacity to the state’s grid, the developer said in the court filing, explaining that the suspension jeopardised the project as the installation vessel was chartered under the current project schedule.
According to the US offshore renewable energy organisation, Oceantic Network, the judge granted the stay against the lease suspension and construction pause, citing the order was “likely arbitrary and capricious” . The judge noted that the issues raised by the government pertained to wind farm operations, not construction, and that the project would be irreparably harmed if the suspension continued.
Oceantic Network also stressed that Vineyard Wind 1’s supply chain stretched across 37 states and had driven more than USD 1.6 billion(around EUR 1.3 billion) worth of investments.
“Vineyard Wind is critical to securing not only Massachusetts’ electric grid, but the regional grid serving millions of residents that depend on the continued, reliable delivery of electricity, especially during these cold winter months. Offshore wind performs well during the winter season, stabilizing rising energy costs for local communities that depend on peaker plants today for adequate supply, which forces families to pay more for the power they need” , said Liz Burdock , Oceantic Network’s CEO.