An international partnership including Orange-based Avangrid, the parent company of United Illuminating, has received final approval from the federal government to start work on an offshore wind farm expected to one day power 400,000 homes.
In a statement released Tuesday, the energy conglomerate announced that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Management had officially signed off on Vineyard Wind, a proposed 800-megawatt turbine farm expected to be built about 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
According to company officials, the site will generate enough electricity to power 400,000 homes in Massachusetts, create the equivalent of 3,600 full-time jobs and reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year.
If ultimately completed, Vineyard Wind, which could include up to 84 turbines, would be the largest off-shore wind farm in the United States.
Avangrid is partnering with Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the project.
Avangrid is also a partner in Park City Wind, a proposed 804MW offshore wind-power facility that would channel electricity to Connecticut.
Since coming into office in January, the administration of President Joe Biden has sought to speed up the construction of planned offshore energy assets on the East Coast — some of which have been in the works for years — by opening up new waters for development and boosting investments in ports and electricity transmission infrastructure.
In March, the White House set a goal of deploying 30,000 MW of offshore wind-derived power by 2030.