Vineyard Wind to deploy wind measurement buoy

Vineyard Wind LLC will today deploy a wind measurement buoy at its proposed 800-MW offshore wind project near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

The company, a 50/50 partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables LLC, will use the Seawatch Wind LiDAR buoy, designed and built by Fugro Norway AS in Trondheim. The buoy, to be deployed by a tug boat of company 41°North Offshore, will measure wind and ocean data to aid the project’s design.

"Deployment of this measurement equipment is an important part of our plan to obtain permits, finalize the project design, and begin construction in 2019, so that we can be fully operational in 2021," Erich Stephens, chief development officer for Vineyard Wind, said in a statement on Monday.

According to the company, Vineyard Wind is the only large-scale offshore wind project in Massachusetts that has initiated the process of securing state and federal permits. It recently filed a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office.

Vineyard Wind is competing in Massachusetts' offshore wind tender for up to 800 MW, where the deadline for selecting a winning proposal or proposals has been moved to May 23.

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