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As Vineyard Wind has ramped up construction this summer, the project is now sending power from 17 turbines to the Massachusetts grid, up from four in May, according to a quarterly investors report released on Wednesday. 

It amounts to about 220 megawatts of the 800-megawatt project, or 27% power production, with enough energy to power more than 100,000 Massachusetts homes. Iberdrola, the parent company of Avangrid, one of the project’s developers, also said in its new report that the project expects to reach 30% power by the end of July — and “full COD,” meaning full commercial operation date, by the end of this year. 

The Light first reported last month that Vineyard Wind extended its lease at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal through June 2026, suggesting construction could continue into next year. 

Vineyard Wind’s quickened progress this summer has been visible at the terminal, where barges and heavy lift vessels have together made more than 15 trips since June, respectively loading and unloading the turbine components. 

The company confirmed Iberdrola’s figures, and in an emailed statement, spokesperson Craig Gilvarg said, “Vineyard Wind continues to progress through its construction and commissioning program, with safety as the highest priority.” 

The project’s progress is also visible in satellite images reviewed by The Light. 

It appears at least 40 of the project’s 62 turbines are in the water as of this month, according to satellite images that show the project’s expansive white blades popping against the atmospheric view of the Atlantic.

What the satellite images don’t share is how many of those blades are from the Canadian plant that manufactured the blade that failed a year ago, and therefore need to be removed and replaced, per an order from the federal government. 

The new replacement blades are coming from a French factory. Foreign-flagged ships have made four deliveries since June. 

Iberdrola in its report this week stated 23 turbines are “fully installed.”

The Light’s cross-examination of past detailed maps from Vineyard Wind and satellite images this week suggested that about 22 of the 40 seemingly installed turbines are likely complete, meaning they’ve been newly installed (blades, nacelle, and tower) or had their blades replaced. 

In May, the project’s map for mariners, once updated quite regularly, was re-issued in redacted form. Icons of towers and blades were replaced with uniform black dots. A company spokesperson previously did not respond to questions on why the map changed. 

It makes it difficult to track project progress, given the major infrastructure projects happen miles offshore. 

Silence has become the default response from wind developers, who are laying low and avoiding any attention — good or bad — lest they draw the ire of a federal administration and president intent on stopping the industry. 

The Light’s unofficial counts of uninstalled and completed turbines are an approximation, based in part on fuzzy satellite images.

Joel Stocker, a retired teacher and GIS enthusiast based in Connecticut, has been building his own progress map of the site with the help of satellite images. The Light examined the same satellite source to vet his approximation. 

Possibly expediting Vineyard Wind’s blade removal and replacement work has been a new jack-up turbine installation vessel, Wind Pace. This week, vessel trackers showed it operating within a section of Vineyard Wind turbines that may require blade removal. That includes one turbine, AT40, that had blades in April, but now has a safety zone around it, per Vineyard Wind’s latest map.

The red-hulled, Danish-flagged ship is just a few months old. Its owner announced the first deployment would be to the United States to support an unnamed offshore wind farm with a contract running about one year, from “Q2 2025 to Q1 2026,” according to the company’s website. 

The second installation vessel is surely an added and possibly unanticipated cost for the project, which has been drawn out as a consequence of the blade failure last year. The day rate for offshore wind vessels can run tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and now Vineyard Wind is paying for two.

Operating near Wind Pace this week has been the Sea Installer, the project’s main installation vessel. 

A satellite image from Tuesday shows a major vessel at the base of turbine location AS38, and a white diagonal line, likely the blades. Vessel trackers showed the Sea Installer at approximately the same spot on Tuesday.

Per Vineyard Wind’s maps, that location only had a monopile in April, meaning this would be a new turbine.  

Over the weekend, a barge with turbine components departed the Port of New Bedford to feed the installation vessels. Since the beginning of June, barges have made nearly one dozen shipments of turbine components to the wind farm, either with the full turbine complement (three blades, two towers and one nacelle), or parts (like blades and nacelle or blades only).

Massachusetts is counting on offshore wind to meet projected grid demand and its climate goals of achieving net-zero emissions (meaning the state offsets or removes as much carbon as it emits) by 2050. 

The state has three offshore wind projects in various stages of development: Vineyard Wind 1, SouthCoast Wind and New England Wind. Together, they would produce about 2.8 gigawatts of energy, or enough to power about 1.2 million homes. 

But SouthCoast Wind and New England Wind 1 have not started construction, and federal obstacles are mounting. In light of this, Massachusetts is considering alternatives, including possible partnerships with future offshore wind projects in Canada.

Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.

15 replies on “Vineyard Wind nears 30% power production”

  1. Hurricane season begins June 1, peaks by September 1, and ends November 30, 2025. In 2018, hurricane Maria destroyed every land-based wind turbine in Puerto Rico.
    .
    The ocean wind turbines proposed off New England have a hub height of 500 feet, which, including the blades, reach 850 feet tall. If an ocean wind turbine survives a storm, there is no guarantee that the foundation will withstand large ocean surges from hurricanes.

    1. How do they survive in the North Sea?
      Hurricane Maria destroyed 80% of Puerto Rico’s electric production, 4.2 percent was wind.
      There is guarantee that any structure will survive severe weather, see the Japanese nuke plant.
      If we are to continue to dominate China we must continue to use all methods of producing electricity.
      Our survival depends on it.

    2. What happens to oil drilling rigs, production platforms, pipe lines, tankers , tank farms, and harbors when a big hurricane rips through the Gulf of America?

      1. When a hurricane is on the way, they move the rigs and tankers. You cannot move a windmill. Oil is biodegradable. Fiberglass is not. Any more questions?

    3. Hi Frank! This is a great point. However, assessing hurricane risk is actually a part of initial citing for any wind farm in the US and, typically, internationally. The New England region (including Vineyard Wind) actually has the lowest chance (barely 10%) of more than 10% of the farm being impacted. That’s from a study here done by Carnegie Mellon: https://www.cmu.edu/ceic/assets/docs/publications/working-papers/ceic-12-01.pdf

      In 2017, Hurricane Stella slammed into the Block Island wind farm with 70 MPH sustained winds. The farm ultimately generated a significant amount of energy from the storm except for a few hours when it shut down due to sustained winds over 55 MPH (the threshold for safety). They fired back up right after. This is from an article on the DOE website (I’m shocked it’s still up): https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/how-do-wind-turbines-survive-severe-weather-and-storms

      So, in short, the data shows we are pretty safe and on track to generate a ton of clean power!

      1. The climate warriors tell us storms will be fiercer and more frequent, and the comforting argument is that only 10% of the windmills will be destroyed? How many tons of forever-fiberglass will that dump into our oceans and beaches, in the name of a crusade that has already failed but whose success can never be measured except in how much money has been wasted? Exactly what kind of clothes is the Emperor wearing?

        1. Hi RG! I’m very hopeful you have this same level of rage for plastic nips, aluminum cans, cigarette butts, shattered glass alcohol bottles, and Dunks hot cups (to name just a few things) that litter our local beaches at far higher rates daily than any windmill or “hypothetical” catastrophe as you describe here.

          I live right near West Beach in New Bedford, so maybe we can organize a weekly clean up together and start there! Let me know.

    4. At an Offshore Wind Symposium in Southampton NY last year, Vineyard Wind representatives admitted that their turbines are rated to only a Category 3 hurricane. Environmental vandalism is not an “if” but a “when”. Fiberglass in the ocean is forever. You will have to wear boots on the beach to avoid invisible splinters.

  2. But our Eversource Bills continue to skyrocket while the Governor and our State Representatives do nothing. For New Bedford Residents there is no relief as our Taxes, Water & Sewer, and Utility Bills rise. 100% it’s time for change.

    1. The electric rates continue to rise because Gov. Healy et al, insists on buying the most expensive “alternative energy”. There is actually a link above from the New Bedford Light: “O, Canada? Massachusetts considering wind power from its northern neighbor.” That’s why rates continue to sky-rocket, regardless of pleas from rate payers…

      1. Hi! I actually transitioned to clean solar for electric last year. I use Arcadia and they coordinate with EverSource. My bill has never been lower. Check it out!

        Now, for gas, there is no easy quick solution sadly.

  3. Wait until you get your next Eversource bill your delivery charges will be astronomical. SHAMEFUL

  5. Clean energy sounds good for all the anti-pollution people, but wind and solar depend on the sunshine & wind, and without those, natural gas, and oil will be needed as it’s always been.
    With Massachusetts not having a storage facility for the excess wind & solar generated energy, they’ll have to sell the excess to other cities and states leaving ZERO reserves when a heatwave, or frigid winter hit consumers who will pay top dollar for heat and electricity as they’ll both be very high in demand.
    There will be no relief in prices as investors want to be paid regardless of consumers ability to pay, so you can thank your Senators Markey, and Warren, both who are more concerned with the rights, and well being of illegal immigrants over you, the tax payers, and the rate payers, they’re both multimillionaires who can afford to pay $5,000 per month for utilities as the line their pockets with money paid by lobbyists. You Massachusetts fools elected people to rip you off…. Great job, you’ve done it.

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