The U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce approved the construction and operation of Vineyard Wind 1, an off-shore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. The 800MW offshore wind farm jointly owned by Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is projected to create 3,600 jobs, which will provide middle-class wages and benefits through an agreement with the Massachusetts Building Trades unions. The project is expected to provide electricity to Massachusetts consumers by 2023.
The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy partnered with the Hampton Roads Alliance and the OpenSeas Technology Innovation Hub to open the Virginia Offshore Wind Landing, which is the first of its kind coworking and networking space dedicated to the offshore wind industry. With the Virginia Offshore Wind Landing, Virginia aims to develop a cluster of offshore wind companies and foster the growth of the Hampton Roads region as an innovation and supply chain hub of the offshore wind industry.