BUSINESS BUZZ
Written on the wind By Steven Froias
The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal
2021 is proving to be a game changer for the looming offshore wind energy in our region. The combination of an administration in Washington, D.C. which shares the values and goals of the renewable energy industry, the substantial groundwork which has been laid to achieve lift-off from the coast of Massachusetts, and the maritime infrastructure the region is blessed by is coming into alignment. The significant milestones of 2021 must start with the momentous decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to greenlight the long-delayed Vineyard Wind 1 project off Martha’s Vineyard.
Vineyard Wind gets a green light
Vineyard Wind 1 is the nation’s first commercial-scale wind energy project. The small wind farm off of Block Island was something off a pilot project. But Vineyard Wind 1, which will stage from the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, represents a first. When BOEM’s decision to permit the project was announced, Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen summed it up: it
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was not about the start of a single project, but the launch of a new industry. “Receiving this final major federal approval means the jobs, economic benefits, and clean energy revolution associated with the Vineyard Wind 1 project can finally come to fruition.” The project design includes the world’s most powerful wind turbine, the GE Haliade-X, with a capacity of 13 megawatts (MW). It’s over 800 feet tall. The larger turbine capacity has allowed the project to reduce the total number of turbines from 108 to 62 – while still delivering a total capacity of 800 MW to Massachusetts ratepayers. The turbine layout, which features consistent spacing of one nautical mile between turbines, was endorsed by the
August 2021 | The South Coast Insider
United States Coast Guard for transit, fishing, and navigational safety, the company notes.
BCC’s Offshore Wind Institute
Meanwhile, the effort to grow the workforce necessary for an offshore wind energy industry now has the wind at its back, thanks to Bristol Community College (BCC). BCC has entered a global partnership with one of the world’s largest providers of offshore wind training, Maersk Training. The collaboration is designed to cement Bristol’s National Offshore Wind Institute role as the region’s leader in basic safety training and basic technical training programs certified by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO). BCC President Laura L. Douglas comments that, “This partnership will connect the college’s faculty and staff with the expertise of industry experts throughout Maersk Training’s expansive global network and will strengthen the development of employment opportunities for Bristol students in the offshore wind supply chain.” The curriculum envisions students learning aspects of engineering technol-
