A project proposed by Vineyard Wind to build a maintenance and operations facility in Vineyard Haven to support its proposed wind farm 15 miles south of the Island took a step forward on August 25, gaining unanimous approval from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
The commission reviewed the project as a development of regional impact (DRI). The plan is to build a roughly 14,000 square foot operations and maintenance building at 69 Beach road.
The facility is one in a string of projects Vineyard Wind is undertaking on the Island to support its wind farm, which is expected to supply energy to up to 400,000 households and businesses across the state. Last year the commission approved a proposal by the company to redevelop the Tisbury Marine Terminal, a project that is ongoing. In July, Vineyard Wind unveiled a proposal to refurbish a helicopter hangar at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport to support a helicopter that will make trips to and from the wind farm. The commission is set to issue a decision for that project on Sept. 1.
The operations and maintenance facility will include office space, storage and parking. The property lies in a flood zone, so the plan is to elevate the building and park cars underneath. Vineyard Wind has said its wind farm will result in 56 new jobs on the Island.
The project was unanimously approved by all commissioners present. Christina Brown, Jeff Agnoli, Fred Hancock, Ben Robinson, Ernie Thomas, Doug Sederholm, Linda Sibley, Jay Grossman, Michael Kim, Brian Smith, Greg Martino and Jim Vercruysse all voted for the project.
“They’re building this for a lot of good reasons,” Mr. Sederholm said.
The land use planning committee, a key subcommittee that often acts as a bellwether for the full commission, recommended that the project be approved by a vote of six in favor, zero opposed and two abstentions. But in its recommendation, it noted that it wanted Vineyard Wind’s housing policy to be more fleshed out, Mr. Sederholm said.
“The housing condition we did not make a decision on because we weren’t comfortable with the applicant’s offer,” Mr. Sederholm said.
During their deliberation, commissioners focused on the housing policy.
Vineyard Wind expects to hire some people who already have housing on the Island. But with housing in such short supply on the Vineyard, the company also offered to provide up to 21 beds for employees, although it did not indicate where the housing would be or how the company planned to find it.
As part of its conditions for approval, the commission will require Vineyard Wind to come back when it has a better understanding of how many people it will need to house and where they plan to do it.
“They don’t know how many beds they’re going to need. How many people are going to be hired to fill those positions and need those beds?” Mr. Martino said.
