First major U.S. offshore wind farm sends first power to the grid

An offshore wind project in New England that is expected to be the U.S.’s first large-scale offshore wind farm has delivered power to the electric grid for the first time.

The Vineyard Wind project — located off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts — sent power to the New England grid during initial testing. 

When it is completed, the project is expected to have 62 wind turbines that generate enough power for more than 400,000 homes in the state of Massachusetts.

The first power just came from one turbine, though developers say five of the turbines are slated to be up and running early this year. 

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy (D), in a written statement, described the initial power delivery as “a historic moment for the American offshore wind industry,” in a written statement. 

“As we look ahead, Massachusetts is on a path toward energy independence thanks to our nation-leading work to stand up the offshore wind industry,” she said.

The Biden administration has sought to bolster offshore wind — setting the goal of getting enough power from offshore wind energy to power 10 million homes by 2030. 

However  the offshore wind industry has seen multiple recent cancellations as high costs create setbacks.

On Wednesday, BP and Equinor announced that they were canceling plans that would provide offshore wind power to New York.

Projects that had been planned off the coast of New Jersey were also canceled last year.