Avangrid, Copenhagen joint wind venture reaches financial close

hpgruesen via Pixabay An offshore wind turbine in shallow water.

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By Zachary Vasile

Avangrid, the Orange-based parent of the United Illuminating Co., has lined up full financing for its first planned offshore wind farm, Vineyard Wind 1, the energy company announced Wednesday.

Avangrid officials said the project has closed on an aggregate of approximately $2.3 billion of construction and term loan financing with nine global lending banks.

“Today’s milestone demonstrates the financial community’s confidence in Vineyard Wind 1 and Avangrid’s sustainability strategy, and more broadly, the U.S. offshore wind industry,” said Avangrid CEO Dennis V. Arriola. “We are proud to pioneer this new industry and demonstrate that offshore wind can be a sound investment, while creating jobs, combating climate change and powering the economies of our coastal communities.”

The company now expects to begin construction work on Vineyard Wind 1 this fall.

Avangrid is joining forces with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a Danish fund management and investment company, to launch the wind farm, which will consist of 62 wind turbines situated about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The project is expected to generate 800 megawatts of electricity annually for Massachusetts, enough to power over 400,000 homes.

Avangrid is also a partner in Park City Wind, a planned 804MW wind power installation that will supply electricity to Connecticut. State officials have touted that project as a major boon to the city of Bridgeport, which will serve as a staging area for construction work and later as an operations and maintenance hub.