“Our Park City Wind proposal is much more than an energy project – it’s an opportunity for Connecticut to develop a world-class offshore wind industry in Bridgeport and solidify its role as a high value industry hub in the U.S. for years to come,” said Lars Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind.
Park City Wind, named after the City of Bridgeport, includes projects ranging from 408 MW to 1,200 MW that would be constructed in one of Vineyard Wind’s two federally designated lease areas (Lease Area OCS-A 0501 and Lease Area OCS-A 0522). Both lease areas are located south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in the midst of the strongest winds on the east coast and would not be visible from any shoreline in Connecticut.
Vineyard Wind has also committed to making Bridgeport home to Park City Wind’s operations and maintenance (O&M) hub for the 25+ years of the project. According to the recently-created Park City Wind website, “This will bring many long-term jobs to Bridgeport and generate direct expenditures worth several hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Vineyard Wind has also announced it will partner with McAllister Towing and Transportation to redevelop an 18.3-acre waterfront industrial property in Bridgeport that is currently “underutilized and undeveloped.”
“A renovated Barnum Landing property will host hundreds of local workers hired to do critical foundation transition piece steel fabrication and final outfitting. This labor-intensive work will create new, well-paying union jobs and build valuable Connecticut-based offshore wind capabilities along with a trained workforce prepared for future offshore wind projects,” according to the company.
Vineyard Wind has said it will also partner with pre-apprenticeship and workforce development programs to help provide access to employment opportunities in the trades to various Connecticut populations, including minorities, women, low-income residents, veterans, and families with a history in the commercial fishing industry. Additionally, Park City Wind is committed to integrating Connecticut’s existing businesses into the offshore wind industry through its Offshore Wind Supply Chain Directory initiative in partnership with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology and local business councils.
Vineyard Wind based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is 50 percent owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50 percent by Avangrid Renewables.
