Vineyard Wind 1 is an offshore wind energy project located about south off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, United States. Vineyard Wind 1 features 62 fixed-bottom wind turbines, with a combined nameplate capacity of 804MW. At peak production, this provides energy equivalent of powering 400,000 homes. The turbines used are manufactured by GE Offshore Wind, each capable of generating up to 13MW. The $4 billion project was developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in partnership with Iberdrola and aimed to contribute substantially to Massachusetts' renewable energy targets while reducing carbon emissions. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved the project in 2019, and construction began in November 2021. Power from the first turbine started flowing into the ISO New England grid in January 2024. The onshore cable landing sites is an onshore substation in Hyannis village, positioned next to the existing Eversource substation.
Construction of the wind farm was completed when the final wind turbine blades were installed on March 13, 2026. Construction was paused in late December 2025 due to a Trump administration order to pause all offshore wind leases to review "national security risks". A preliminary court injunction in January 2026 allowed construction to resume while the lawsuit proceeded.
Project overview The project is jointly owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Iberdrola, through a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables.] GE Offshore Wind (a subsidiary of GE Wind Energy based in Europe) is supplying the 62 turbines. Windar Renovables is building the foundations. Nexans Group & Prysmian Group is providing cabling.
Two independent submarine power cables run from an offshore 220 kV transformer about 15 miles south of the southeast corner of Martha's Vineyard, to Covell's Beach in Centerville in Barnstable on Cape Cod about 34 miles (some 55 km) away. They feed into the 115 kV grid at Barnstable Switching StationTown of Barnstable planning document, Vineyard Wind 1 Overview owned by Eversource.
The Port of New Bedford has been used as a staging area for the project. DEME is handling some construction and installation logistics. The vessels used must comply with the Jones Act, so feeder barges transport components from port to site. Salem Harbor has also been developed as an offshore wind port in conjunction with the project.
During construction a bubble curtain from Thayer Mahan, Inc. is being deployed.Adrijana Buljan: Vineyard Wind to Deploy US-Based Supplier’s Bubble Curtain During Foundation Installation, offshoreWIND.biz, May 12, 2023
A final environmental impact statement (FEIS) was released in March 2021. Approval was delayed during the term of U.S. president Donald Trump, due to concerns regarding fishing and safety. The permission was fast-tracked after Joe Biden took office. Final major federal approval was granted on May 11, 2021.
A total of $2.3 billion in project funding was secured in October 2021. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance representing fishing interests filed a federal lawsuit several months later disputing the approval,U.S. fishing group sues Biden administration over offshore wind project and a group of Nantucket residents did so in January 2023.Vineyard Wind opponents ask federal judge to halt project over environmental concerns Solar competitor Allco Renewable Energy also filed suit. Construction proceeded despite the lawsuits.
Electricity from the first turbines began flowing on January 2, 2024, with the final turbines expected to be installed by the end 2024.Checking in on Vineyard Wind, country's first large offshore wind project in Mass.
The developers have agreed to suspend construction during right whale activity in the area, and University of New Hampshire monitors their sounds. The project is expected to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce electricity costs for Massachusetts consumers. The wind farm has secured 20-year contracts to sell the power it produces for a fixed 20-year price of $0.09/kWh and has agreed to provide a total of $15 million for a fund to provide battery storage in low-income communities.
Six beaches on the island of Nantucket were closed after a wind-turbine blade from the offshore wind farm broke apart on July 13, 2024, sending fiberglass shards into the Atlantic Ocean and onto the nearby coast. GE Vernova said the cause of the blade failure was a manufacturing defect involving "insufficient bonding" and a failure of the factory's quality control to catch the issue. GE Vernova inspected more than 100 other blades, and removed blades from at least two turbines due to finding defects. The federal government ordered the project to stop producing power as a result of the incident, with wind turbine operation only restarting in January 2025. In July 2025, GE Vernova announced a $10.5 million dollar settlement with the town of Nantucket for costs associated with the incident.
In order to reduce nighttime visual impact, the red warning lights on the top of the towers are only turned on when radar detects an approaching aircraft. In September 2025, Nantucket residents complained this system was malfunctioning.
Development timeline This timeline traces the development from the project from 2015 to 2025 when the operation of Vineyard Wind 1 is expected begin. It is organized in four distinct phases that the project must go through in order to be complete. The first phase is early development and planning, during which time the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) gauges interest in a new lease area, evaluates the environmental impacts that may be imposed on it by construction, and conducts an auction to select a developer for a new offshore wind project. During the second phase, environmental review and permitting, the developer must submit a plan for how they will build, operate, and decommission the project. In response to this, BOEM must conduct an environmental analysis to assess the impacts of the plan, and consider comments submitted from the public regarding the public. In the third phase, record of decision and approvals, BOEM along with other implicated agencies must consider the environmental analysis and make a final decision on whether or not to approve the project. If approved, the project moves to the final phase during which is the action construction and installation of the wind farm. Early Development & Planning January 2015: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) awarded Lease OCS-A 0501, encompassing approximately 166,886 acres, to Vineyard Wind. April 1, 2015: The effective date of Lease OCS-A 0501. May 10, 2018: BOEM approves Vineyard Wind's Site Assessment Plan (SAP).Environmental Review & Permitting December 2017: Construction & Operation Plan submitted to BOEM for approximately 800 megawatts (MW). March 30, 2018: BOEM publishes a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Vineyard Wind initiating a 30-day public comment period. April 30, 2018: Public comment period for EIS ends. December 7, 2018: BOEM publishes a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the draft of EIS. December 5, 2024: COP Revision submitted to BOEM detailing the removal of the blades from up to 22 wind turbine generators.Record of Decision & Approvals March 12, 2021: The project received the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) from BOEM, which signaled approval for the project. May 10, 2021: U.S. Department of the Interior releases Record of Decision (ROD) favoring 84 or fewer turbines.Construction & Installation 2021: Onshore construction for underground export circuits begins. 2022: Offshore construction begins with export cable installation. 2023: Wind turbine installation commences. January 2, 2024: First power is achieved as one turbine delivers approximately 5 MW of power to the grid. July 13, 2024: Installed blade at wind turbine generator AW-38 fails, releasing blade debris. BOEM halts construction and power generation. January 18, 2025: Further construction reauthorized; complete wind turbines allowed to generate power again. July 25, 2025: 17 turbines are operational. October 5, 2025 30 turbines are operational, with another 25 installed. End of 2025: Construction was expected to be complete. Construction was 95% complete when it was paused in December 2025 due to a lawsuit, but the pause was at least temporarily lifted in January 2026. March 3, 2026 60 turbines have been installed, and 52-55 are operational. March 13, 2026 Construction is completed, with the last turbine installed.
Lease area
Location Vineyard Wind 1 is located in federally controlled water on the Commercial Lease Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)-A-0501, which is approximately 12 nautical miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard and 12 nautical miles from Nantucket. The lease area comprises 166,886 acres, and only the Northern section will be occupied by Vineyard Wind 1 project.
History of lease area In 2009, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) initiated the renewable energy program (authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005), which provides a structure for regional planning and analysis, lease issuance, site assessment, and construction and operations.United States Government Manual. "Bureau of Ocean Energy Management". www.usgovernmentmanual.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2025. BOEM is required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to award offshore wind lease areas competitively, through a "Call for Information and Nominations" process."Commercial Wind Leasing Offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management". www.boem.gov. Retrieved March 5, 2025. BOEM published its Call for Information and Nominations on the 6th of February 2012 in the Federal Register to gauge interest for the Call Area. The Call additionally asked for information from the public regarding issues relevant to the review of nominations for the potential lease area.
On the 12th of November 2012, BOEM published a Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for commercial wind lease issuance and site assessment activities on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Call Area. On June 17, 2014, BOEM and Massachusetts announced that a total of would be designated for commercial wind energy leasing. Later, on January 29, 2015, BOEM conducted a competitive auction to lease sections the area. Vineyard Wind 1 won the lease area, with a bid of $135.1 million, outcompeting 10 other developers, the most company participants in an OSW auction in the US thus far.
Regulatory and permitting process In March 2017, the Site Assessment plan, detailing the methods Vineyard Wind 1 project might use to collect data on the marine environment in the lease area to better understand it, was submitted to BOEM and approved in November 2017. The Construction and Operations plan (COP) was submitted in December 2017 to BOEM, laying out detailed plans for construction and operations offshore and extensive archaeological surveys evaluation. Onshore transmission plans were submitted to the state of Massachusetts at the same time. In May 2019, the state board approved Vineyard Wind 1 transmission plan.
During the public comments period in June 2020, 29,000 positive comments were received for Vineyard wind. In March 2021, BOEM released Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). After a 3-year review of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by multiple agencies, BOEM approved the COP with revisions.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)