Vineyard Wind announced that Southwire will be a key supplier for the design, manufacturing and installation of the onshore cables for Vineyard Wind 1, a project that’s slated to be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States.
The 800-megawatt (MW) project, located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, will generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes, had a ceremonial groundbreaking late last year and is expected to begin producing power in 2023.
“Vineyard Wind 1 is an exciting project for all involved, including Southwire,” said Rich Stinson, Southwire president and CEO in the press release. “Through this partnership, Southwire is providing a comprehensive solution to our customer, while also supporting our commitment to sustainability."
Southwire’s facility in Huntersville, NC, will manufacture the high-voltage cable for the onshore portion of Vineyard Wind 1. The plant will manufacture more than 32 miles of high-voltage cable. Southwire’s high-voltage field services team, working with local laborers, will install the cable with a projected onshore site completion by the first quarter of 2023. The cable will be part of the grid system that will be ready to provide power to 400,000 households from the 62 GE turbines. The turbines themselves are planned to start being installed in the Summer of 2023.
Vineyard Wind says the project will utilize 62, 13MW General Electric Haliade-X wind turbines that will be connected to an offshore substation, where the power will be transferred to two export cables that will make landfall at Covell’s Beach in Barnstable, MA, on Cape Cod and connect to the grid at an inland substation.