Renewable

August 15 (Renewables Now) - The developer of the 800-MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind project near Massachusetts is studying options for delivering the project at a later time.

The announcement was made early this week and followed news that the US Department of the Interior has formally decided to extend the environmental review process for the project in order to conduct a supplemental study on the potential cumulative impacts of offshore wind in the area. This means that the original timeline for the project is no longer feasible.

Vineyard Wind LLC, a 50/50 partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables LLC, initially hoped to complete the public and regulatory review for the ambitious project by August 16, 2019. The issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was one of the final major steps in that process. 

Despite the delay, Vineyard Wind’s chief development officer Erich Stephens stressed on the fact that shareholders remain “committed to moving this project forward as quickly as circumstances allow.”

Permitting of the Vineyard Wind Connector that will link the plant to the regional grid, will continue as planned.

Vineyard Wind has long-term power purchase contracts with Massachusetts’ electric distribution companies (EDCs) to start supplying electricity from the complex by January 2022