Vineyard Wind picks turbine supplier
NEW BEDFORD — Vineyard Wind announced Tuesday that it has chosen MHI Vestas Offshore Wind to supply turbines for the company’s 800-megawatt wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard. The supplier is expected to provide 84 of its V164-9.5 megawatt turbines for the project.
“By driving down the cost of energy through reliable wind turbine technology, MHI Vestas is the perfect partner for our company and the commonwealth,” Lars Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind, said.
MHI Vestas CEO Philippe Kavafyan said his company was honored to be a key supplier for what is expected to be the first large-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. MHI Vestas, which is headquartered in Denmark, is a 50-50 venture between Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The company designs, manufactures, installs and services wind turbines for the offshore wind industry.
Vineyard Wind won a contract earlier this year to sell wind energy to three electricity distributors in Massachusetts, and the company intends to begin construction in 2019 and start operations by 2021. The state Energy Facilities Siting Board is expected to decide where Vineyard Wind may land its transmission cable on the Cape’s shoreline, either in Barnstable or West Yarmouth. The cable will allow Vineyard Wind to connect to the existing regional electricity grid through a substation in Barnstable.