July 8, 2024 — Avangrid, Inc. — one of the entities connected to the offshore wind farm project known as Vineyard Wind 1 — announced this week that its Construction and Operations Plan, or COP, for the New England Wind 1 and 2 offshore projects now has “full federal approval.” If one or both are selected to move forward, Avangrid has plans to bring an industry-first to New Bedford, according to the company.
In its announcement, Avangrid, Inc. called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval “a critical milestone” that “largely completes the federal, state, and local permitting process for Avangrid’s 791 Megawatt New England Wind 1 project.” New England Wind 2 is contingent upon a version of the plans in which New England Wind 1 also moves forward. Another version accounts for New England Wind 1 moving forward alone. Decisions on proposals for the next round of wind projects involving Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut should be made by state officials sometime in August, according to Avangrid’s release.
“New England Wind 1 is the only project in the solicitation that has all federal, state, and local permits; the ability to start construction in 2025; and deliver power by 2029,” the release reads.