Video of February 3 presentation offers preview of what to expect over next decade

CEO of Avangrid Renewables, Bill White, and colleague Jay Borkland gave their first public presentation for Salem residents at SAFE’s February 3 meeting. Avangrid Renewables is a pioneer in off-shore wind development and has completed three European projects. The company is currently building Vineyard Wind 1, off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, in partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. It has secured the leases for two additional projects, Commonwealth Wind and Park City Wind, which will be adjacent to Vineyard 1. For those two projects, Avangrid Renewables will be using the Salem port to marshal, assemble, test and transport turbines to the wind farm sites.

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Watch the video of the presentation.

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Salem will become the second port in Massachusetts designed for the off-shore wind industry. Crowley Maritime will work in partnership with Avangrid to ensure the port meets the wind developers needs. Residents can expect the port construction to begin late in 2022 and continue for about two years. Avangrid expects to begin its operations at the port in 2025.

The port infrastructure project is about a $180 million investment in Salem, and will create about 382 full-time-equivalent (FTE) job years (about 200 jobs for two years). The wind marshalling operation will create another 400 FTE job years over the rest of the decade.

Borkland emphasized that the wind port will bring significant economic activity to Salem and the region, as related industries locate close to the wind port. This could include designers, engineers, tech companies, and so on. “It’s a gamechanger,” said Borkland.