Vineyard Wind celebrated a milestone this week with the completion of its first offshore wind turbine generator, parent company Avangrid and investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners announced Wednesday.
The new turbine — the first of 62 in the Vineyard Wind project, located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard —stands up 837 feet above the water’s surface when one of its three blades is topmost.
The generator, connected to an offshore substation completed this summer, is rated to produce up to 13 megawatts of electrical energy that can power more than 6,000 properties, according to the announcement.
“This is a monumental achievement and a proud day for offshore wind in the United States that proves this industry is real and demonstrates Avangrid’s steadfast commitment to helping the Northeast region meet its clean energy and climate goals,” Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said in a statement. “While this is a landmark for this first-in-the-nation project and the industry, we remain focused on the important work ahead to continue the successful installation campaign of these massive turbines and deliver the first power to Massachusetts homes and businesses this year.”
When all 62 turbines are in place, Vineyard Wind expects to be able to generate more than 800 megawatts, enough to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts, according to the project website.
The new turbine and substation are controlled from shore through fiber-optic undersea cables, with a microwave radio link to the Carroll’s Way signal tower in Oak Bluffs as a back-up in case the cabling fails, Vineyard Wind officials said.
