Project Update: Submarine Cable Contract Awarded to Prysmian Group, with Commitment for 100 Workers from Massachusetts and New England States
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(New Bedford, MA; May 17, 2019) – Vineyard Wind announced today that it has awarded a contract to the Prysmian Group for the installation of a submarine power cable system which will deliver clean energy from the United States’ first large-scale offshore wind facility to the New England electrical grid.
The contract, which is valued in excess of $220 million, includes provisions for hiring up to 100 workers locally, as well as strict requirements for protection of the marine environment. Delivery and commissioning of the Vineyard Wind project are scheduled for 2021.
Under terms of the contract Prysmian will be responsible for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of an HVAC (High Voltage Alternating Current) wiring system composed of two transmission cables. The project requires installation of more than 80 miles of power cables.
The contract includes manufacture of cabling by the Prysmian Group and installation of submarine cables in close collaboration with local workers. Installation operations will be performed by the Prysmian Group’s state-of-the-art cable laying vessels, Cable Enterprise and Ulisse, with nearshore work executed in collaboration with the company’s long-standing local union partners. Prysmian will also provide permanent monitoring solutions that will collect and analyze data to further ensure the cables’ safe operation.
The worldwide and American leader of submarine cable production and installations, the Prysmian Group has well-established ties in Massachusetts, employing more than 200 people at its North Dighton manufacturing plant facility. The Prysmian Group is currently developing a power interconnection between Deer Island and a mainland grid connection point in Boston.
In addition to hiring local contractors and supply chain resources to support the project through completion, the Prysmian Group will leverage the Vineyard Wind project to open a new office in Massachusetts as part of the company’s long-term commitment to Massachusetts and its sustainable energy future.
Vineyard Wind was selected in May 2018 to negotiate long-term contracts with Massachusetts’ electric distribution companies (EDCs) for construction of an 800-megawatt (MW) wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. As the project continues to move ahead with public and regulatory review through more than 25 federal, state, and local approval processes, Vineyard Wind remains on track to begin construction in 2019. Once operational in 2021, the Vineyard Wind project will provide approximately 6% of the state’s electricity usage, and reduce Massachusetts’ carbon emissions by over 1.6 million tons per year, the equivalent of removing 325,000 cars from state roads.
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About Vineyard Wind
Vineyard Wind LLC is an offshore wind development company seeking to build the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the US, to be located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is 50 percent owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50 percent by Avangrid Renewables. For more information, visit www.vineyardwind.com.
Vineyard Wind Press Contact: Scott Farmelant, 617-939-6582, scott@millspr.com