New Bedford terminal to handle offshore wind farm components

The Massachusetts Governor’s Office signed a letter of intent with three offshore wind farm developers to lease the 26-acre multipurpose New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging ground for wind turbine components.

   The Massachusetts Governor’s Office signed a letter of intent this week with three large offshore wind farm developers to lease the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging ground for wind turbine components.
   “This is a big step forward in establishing a supply chain that will produce quality jobs and long-term economic growth on the South Coast and throughout Massachusetts,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito in a statement.
   The three wind farm developers that signed the letter include DONG Energy, Deepwater Wind and OffshoreMW. These developers hold leases in the federally identified offshore wind energy development areas located 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
   The announcement also follows the Massachusetts governor’s recent signing of energy legislation that requires utilities to competitively solicit and contract for about 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind and 1,200 megawatts of other clean energy generation, such as hydropower.
   The New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, which is operated by MassCEC, is a multipurpose, 26-acre facility designed to support the construction, assembly and deployment of offshore wind projects, as well as handle bulk, break-bulk, container and large specialty marine cargo.
   “The construction of the Marine Commerce Terminal, along with the recently enacted energy legislation, were the two key drivers for my company to recently ramp up its investment in Massachusetts’ new offshore wind industry,” said Erich Stephens, executive vice president of OffshoreMW.
   The U.S. offshore wind farm industry is still in its infancy, almost 30 years behind that of Europe. The first of these renewable energy projects in the United States was completed by Deepwater Wind in late August with the construction of five wind turbines three miles off the coast of Block Island, R.I.