Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has announced that the company has entered into an agreement with Crowley Maritime Corporation and the City of Salem (Mass.) to create a public-private partnership aimed at establishing Salem Harbor as the state’s second major offshore wind port.
Vineyard Wind estimates that the project would create up to an estimated 400 full time equivalent (FTE) job years during the revitalization of the port and up to another 500 FTEs over the first five years of operation for construction and staging for wind projects and day-to-day port operations, for a total of 900 FTE job years.
Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Crowley, through its New Energy subsidiary Crowley Wind Services, will purchase the 42 acres surrounding Salem Harbor Station, currently owned by Footprint Power LLC, and will serve as the long-term offshore wind port operator for the site. Vineyard Wind’s partners (Avangrid Renewables & CIP) will serve as the port’s anchor tenants, utilizing the property for the Commonwealth Wind project as well as other projects in the company’s portfolio.
The Commonwealth Wind project intends to use the site for turbine assembly and staging activities, utilizing the site to store and assemble components – including blades, nacelles, and tower sections – as they are prepared for offshore installation. Given Salem Harbor’s deep-water port and unrestricted height access to accommodate large-scale wind turbine installation vessels, Vineyard Wind sees Salem Harbor as a necessary addition to support the offshore wind industry within the Commonwealth and across the region.
Both Vineyard Wind and Crowley will work alongside the City of Salem to engage in a robust community outreach and listening process to seek input and build support for this innovative partnership. The parties are committed to jointly developing a local community benefit agreement to safeguard the City’s long-term interests, while working with residents and businesses to identify local supply chain and workforce development opportunities.
Following the redevelopment of Salem Harbor, Avangrid Renewables will be the first tenant to utilize the site to assemble and deploy offshore wind turbines for Commonwealth Wind and future projects. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will be the second tenant to utilize the Terminal to assemble and deploy turbines for their future projects.