Vineyard Wind offshore project will unlock the U.S. market

May 24, 2019 | Case Study

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities recently approved 20-year contracts made by Vineyard Wind to sell power generated from its planned 800 MW offshore wind farm. This may represent a watershed moment for offshore wind in the U.S. – actual progress in approving and building out farms beyond the current total fleet of five wind turbines on Block Island. However, proponents of offshore wind are hesitant to celebrate prematurely, as the U.S. has represented dangerous territory for offshore wind developers following the debacle of the Cape Wind project, which folded after a decade of court battles, and even the Block Island wind farm remains controversial with its expensive power purchase agreement (PPA) at $0.24/kWh.