The White House has approved Avangrid and CIP’s 800MW Vineyard offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.
The project will be the first large-scale offshore wind project in the US and will be located 12 nautical miles from Nantucket.
It will comprise 84 turbines arranged in a north-south and east-west orientation, with a minimum spacing of one nautical mile between each turbine.
Full construction and operations are projected to create 3600 jobs for Massachussets and spur over $200m in economic activity.
The issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Vineyard project is viewed as a sign of federal support for jump-starting the US offshore wind industry.
Vineyard will contribute to the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of generating 30GW of energy from offshore wind by 2030.
US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said: “A clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States. The approval of this project is an important step toward advancing the Administration’s goals to create good paying union jobs while combatting climate change and powering our nation.
“Today is one of many actions we are determined to take to open the doors of economic opportunity to more Americans.”
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo added: “Today’s offshore wind project announcement demonstrates that we can fight the climate crisis, while creating high-paying jobs and strengthening our competitiveness at home and abroad.
“This project is an example of the investments we need to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and I’m proud to be part of the team leading the charge on offshore wind.”
Chief executive of the Business Network for Offshore Wind Liz Burdock said: “This approval should signal “go” to all the supply chain companies that were waiting to see if the industry would move to commercial scale construction.
“Now is the time to get involved in this next great American industry and become part of the most exciting energy sector this country has seen in fifty years.
“Consistent approval of these pending offshore wind projects will help catapult the U.S. as a leader in the offshore wind market and create thousands of well-paying jobs.”