Agreement will Utilize Local Labor in Massachusetts and be Subject to a PLA
Vineyard today announced that Linxon, a leading utility contractor with operations in the United States and globally, has secured an order for a turnkey 220/115-kilovolt (kV) substation that will connect clean, renewable energy to the ISO New England power grid from the first utility-scale offshore wind project ever built in the United States.
The agreement, contingent upon the project reaching financial close, ensures that tradespeople in Massachusetts will be hired to install the substation under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA).
“We’re proud to reach this agreement, both for the progress it signifies on our first project and also for the jobs it will create locally once we reach financial close,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen. “Thanks to critically important input from the community, the design plans make every effort for the substation to blend in with its surroundings and use the highest environmental protection standards. Once the project is operational, this asset will provide a necessary connection point for clean, renewable energy to the Massachusetts grid.”
The project will generate cost-competitive electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tons per year. The substation, which will commence construction in 2021 and be fully commissioned by 2023, will guarantee local jobs for the next 25 years in both operations and maintenance.
“We are very pleased to support this landmark offshore wind energy project in the United States,” said Frederic Trefois, CEO of Linxon. “It underscores the confidence our customers have in Linxon’s ability to support them from the front-end engineering and design until the full project delivery offering optimized solutions, minimizing time and costs, as well as a reliable integration into the transmission grids, based on state-of-the-art products and comprehensive project experience.”
About Vineyard Wind:
Vineyard Wind LLC is an offshore wind development company seeking to build the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the U.S., to be located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is 50 percent owned by funds of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and 50 percent by Avangrid Renewables. For more information, visit www.vineyardwind.com.
About Linxon:
We combine Hitachi ABB Power Grids deep technological knowledge and SNC-Lavalin’s project management expertise to create a company dedicated to substations. As one of the leading engineering companies, we help our customers with turnkey solutions in the field of substations for power transmission, renewable energy and transportation. As a single point of contact we combine the accumulated knowhow of key-suppliers and contractors so that customers benefit from efficient solutions, increased industrial productivity and a lower environmental impact. We work to shape energy solutions to empower sustainable connectivity. linxon.com
