Iberdrola S A : receives first clearance from Biden Administration for New England Wind projects

News 02.04.2024

Iberdrola receives first clearance from Biden Administration for New England Wind projects

Iberdrola projectsoffshore windUnited StatesAvangrid

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Ignacio Galán, Executive Chairman of Iberdrola, photographed at one of the Group's offshore wind farms

• Iberdrola recibe la primera autorización de la Administración Biden para los proyectos de New England Wind [PDF]

• The company's new offshore wind farm in the United States could collectively provide up to 2 gigawatts of clean, reliable installed capacity to Massachusetts.
• It will create up to 9,200 full-time jobs during all phases of the project and bring $8 billion in direct investment to the region.
• It will reduce almost 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to taking around 700,000 cars off the road each year over the life of the project.
• In March, it submitted several proposals for offshore wind energy in Massachusetts-Rhode Island-Connecticut.
  

Iberdrola, through its US subsidiary Avangrid, has received ROD clearance from the Biden Administration for its New England offshore wind farm. The Federal Record of Decision (ROD) together with the Construction and Operations Plan Approval (COP), expected in 2024, represent an important milestone in the permitting for the construction of the future farm.

On February 26, 2024, New England Wind received a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The issuance of the ROD by the Department of Interior follows years of intensive engagement with members of the local residential and fishing communities and other stakeholders. Approval of the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) is expected in July 2024.

The New England Wind project, consisting of New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2, has the potential to create thousands of jobs and provide approximately 2 gigawatts of clean, reliable energy, enough to power nearly one million homes and businesses in the region, which would reduce nearly 4 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to taking approximately 700,000 cars off the road each year over the life of the project. In total it will create up to 9,200 full-time skilled jobs and bring $8 billion in direct investment to the region.

In addition, the project also offers opportunities for economic growth and industrial attraction in the area, such as an assembly centre, an offshore wind training centre, a new offshore crane factory, operations and maintenance facilities in Bridgeport, Connecticut and New Bedford, among others.

New England Wind 1 is exceptionally advanced for commissioning and offers extraordinary security and viability. In fact, it is the most advanced and ready offshore wind opportunity in the Northeast region.

If selected, the project, which would be located about 50 kilometres south of Barnstable, Massachusetts, could begin construction in 2025 and be in commercial operation before the end of the decade, contributing to the New England state's ambitious 2030 climate goals.

Leading developer of offshore wind

The United States is Iberdrola's main investment focus within its 2024-2026 strategic plan, to which it will allocate 41,000 million euros. Specifically, the country will receive 35% of the investment, some 14,350 million euros.

Electricity grids will be the main segment of investments. Some 21.5 billion euros will be devoted mainly to extending and reinforcing grids. In renewables, Iberdrola plans to invest EUR 15.5 billion gross in the coming years, of which more than half will focus on offshore wind in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, totalling 3,000 MW.

Iberdrola is the leading developer of offshore wind energy in the United States. On 27 March 2024, it submitted numerous proposals for new offshore wind energy in Massachusetts-Rhode Island-Connecticut. The states are expected to announce the selected projects in August 2024.

The company currently has the Vineyard Wind I farm under construction. With 806 MW of capacity, it is the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the country and will supply clean, reliable power to 400,000 homes, which is more than half the size of a city like Boston or the entire island of Palma de Mallorca. homes and businesses in Massachusetts.

In February, the energy company announced the commissioning of the first five turbines that will supply 30,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts with clean energy.

In addition to Vineyard Wind I, the company's most important offshore wind projects include the East Anglia Hub complex in the United Kingdom, which contains three projects with a total installed capacity of 2,900 MW, Saint-Brieuc in France, and its three wind farms in Baltic waters: Wikinger, Baltic Eagle and Windanker.