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Boston, MA – Vineyard Offshore, the nation’s leading offshore wind developer through parent company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a global leader in green energy investment and in offshore wind development, today joined Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Martha’s Vineyard for a tour of the Operations and Maintenance facilities that will provide long-term support services for the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind 1 project. As part of the visit, Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton joined Governor Healey to see the progress on two facilities – a newly constructed pier at the Tisbury Marine Terminal, and an O&M Service Building on Beach Road – that will be critical to the successful operation of the wind farm while creating approximately 90 jobs.

“Offshore wind leadership starts with a commitment to the community. Vineyard Offshore takes pride in our enduring partnership with the residents of Martha's Vineyard and the fulfillment of the groundbreaking Community Benefits Agreement with our partner Vineyard Power, of which these jobs are a direct result,” said Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton. “We remain forever committed to our 'look local first' hiring principle, and creating valuable, year-round careers and opportunities for islanders is a major achievement for our team. A well-trained local workforce is essential in shaping our offshore wind future, and we are deeply grateful for Governor Healey's attention to this historic project and the people who build and maintain it. The Healey Driscoll Administration's unwavering support for the offshore wind industry is exceptional, and we are honored to help realize the Commonwealth's ambitious climate goals.”

Vineyard Wind broke ground on the facilities in 2022. The facilities will provide support services for the windfarm once it’s operational, creating 90 jobs while also bolstering the community’s environmental sustainability goals.

In addition to O&M technicians, the facilities will employ people with a range of skillsets, such as site managers, planners, helicopter pilots, crew transfer vessel (CTV) support staff, and health, safety and environmental (HSE) managers, among other positions.

The port facility at the Tisbury Marine Terminal can support up to three Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). Two CTVs were in port on Thursday, which transport O&M technicians to the windfarm.

The O&M service building, located on Beach Road near the port, includes warehouse, storage, and office space. The building’s design incorporates sustainability and climate resiliency initiatives. It is elevated 15 feet above street level standing on steel piles, providing flood resiliency as well as parking. The building also features solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and bike parking.

Vineyard Wind also constructed a hangar at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport to house a helicopter that will service the project. Like the O&M service building, the hanger also includes sustainability initiatives, including an all-electric heating system.

Vineyard Wind has been actively working to fill positions with island residents, hosting multiple job fairs and weekly office hours. In December 2023, project shareholders announced that Vineyard Wind 1 has double the original estimate of union hires with more than 1,000 tradespeople having worked on the project to date.

Vineyard Wind began offshore construction in late 2022, achieved steel-in-the-water in June 2023, and completed the nation’s first offshore substation in July 2023. Construction flows through the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. In July 2021, Vineyard Wind signed the first Project Labor Agreement for an offshore wind project in the United States, which outlined the creation of 500 union jobs through the project.

An 806-megawatt project located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road annually.

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About Vineyard Offshore

Vineyard Offshore, an affiliate of CIP, is leading the development of two lease areas in the Northeast, in addition to a recently acquired lease in Northern California, OCS-P 0562. Lease area OCS-A 522, known as Vineyard Northeast, is located off the coast of Massachusetts. OCS-A 544, known as Vineyard Mid-Atlantic and home to the Excelsior Wind Project, is located in the New York Bight. Combined with its joint venture development of the first-in-the-nation offshore wind project, Vineyard Wind 1, now under construction, Vineyard Offshore has the potential to develop more than 6 gigawatts of clean, renewable, and affordable energy on the East and West Coasts of the United States.  To learn more, visit: www.vineyardoffshore.com.  

Media Contact: Press@VineyardOffshore.com

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