Avangrid Renewables is examining ways of speeding up delivery of its 800MW Vineyard wind project off Massachusetts.
The Iberdrola-owned business is currently on track to deliver the project in two 400MW tranches, with the first due online in 2021 and the second in 2022.
“We are looking to accelerate that to get everything in in 2021, but that is still a work in process,” Avangrid chief executive James Torgerson said during the company’s Q4 2018 results call yesterday.
Avangrid said it had already signed a preferred supplier agreement with a yard to provide two substations to the project.
Other contract negotiations for long-lead items are at an advanced stage, with awards due later this year, Torgeson added.
MHI Vestas has already been signed up to provide V164-9.5MW turbines to the project, which is being co-developed with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Avangrid has meanwhile included plans to manufacture foundations in the US from a port facility in Albany, New York, as part of its bid to develop the up-to-1.2GW Liberty Wind project 137km off New York.
“The bid includes substantial economic and job creation benefits in New York,” Torgeson said.
The developer has partnered with US transmission developer Anbaric Development Partners, which will finance and own the projects export cable, which will link to an existing substation facility on Long Island.
The project has been bid into New York’s debut offshore wind solicitation for around 800MW of capacity. Three bids of 400MW, 800MW and 1.2GW have been lodged.
New York will announce successful bidders in April.