The financial close of the 800MW Vineyard Wind 1 project kickstarts the US offshore wind market, which is targeted to reach 30GW by 2030. CIP is a first mover and pioneer in the US offshore wind market with Vineyard Wind 1 becoming the first large-scale offshore wind project in the USA reaching financial close. The project received the Record of Decision from the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in May 2021 marking the final major step of the federal review process. Vineyard Wind 1 is a state-of-the-art project utilizing a multi-contracting approach, which is de-risked by the selection of very experienced contractors, both locally and internationally. The project will utilize monopile foundations and GE will provide 62 Haliade-X 13MW wind turbines. Vineyard Wind 1 is expected to create thousands of local jobs over its lifetime while significant commitments have been made over different initiatives aiming to ignite the offshore wind workforce and supply chain in Massachusetts.

“With Vineyard Wind 1 reaching financial close we are now entering into the construction phase of the project. It has been a long development period and we could have not come to this day without all the hard work of the team, the strong support we have received from the local communities and the US government and the great cooperation we have with our project partners,” said Christian T. Skakkebæk, Senior Partner in CIP. “Along with Vineyard Wind 1, the whole offshore wind market in the USA is moving forward and the US is getting a step closer into reaching its clean energy goals.”

Vineyard Wind 1 secured a strong and attractive financing package from a syndicate of leading project financing banks. The 800MW offshore wind farm will be financed through a combination of equity and senior loans from a consortium of 9 international and U.S. based banks. The total project financing raised from the banks amounts to approximately USD 2.3 billion. During construction and prior to first power, US Tax Equity investors will be introduced in the capital structure of the project.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has through its funds Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S (CI II) and Copenhagen Infrastructure III K/S (CI III) been involved with the development of Vineyard Wind 1 since 2016.

Vineyard Wind 1 is a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables LLC, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., CI II and CI III. CIP, through CI II, acquired the Vineyard Wind site in 2016 and then focused on the development of the first project, Vineyard Wind 1. In 2017, CI II divested 50% of the Vineyard Wind site to AREN and 25% to CI III, forming the Vineyard Wind partnership. In 2018, Vineyard Wind 1 entered into 20-year PPAs with three local utilities in Massachusetts. CIP will lead the project through its construction phase with expected start of commercial operations in Q2 2024.

“This is an amazing day for us and the US offshore wind market. It has been a tremendous effort from everyone in the CIP and Copenhagen Offshore Partners team. Vineyard Wind 1 is a landmark project for CIP and the whole offshore wind industry. There are significant offshore wind investment opportunities in the US, and CIP has proved itself being able to develop and secure financing successfully for its projects. Along with our partners we will now focus on delivering the project and get Vineyard Wind 1 to commercial operations and production of clean power.” said Michael Hannibal, CIP Partner. Once operational, Vineyard Wind 1 will be providing enough electricity to power more than 400,000 households in Massachusetts every year.

Santander acted as Financial Advisor for the project debt financing and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as the project’s legal advisor.

KeyFacts Energy: Vineyard Wind US country profile