Vineyard Wind Sketches Offshore Wind Jobs Initiative

Vineyard Wind plans to invest USD 2 million in training locals for work at its proposed wind farm offshore Massachusetts, US, if the project secures a contract to deliver power to the state’s utilities, according to local media.

The Wind Workforce initiative would include training students for approximately 1,000 engineering, design, construction and operation jobs by 2022, the media reported the company’s Chief Development Officer, Erich Stephens, as saying.

The initiative would be accomplished by Vineyard Wind partnering with Cape Cod Community College, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and other schools to train staff for the required jobs, Stephens said, adding that the final aim is to provide Massachusetts with the highest skilled wind energy workforce on the East Coast.

Vineyard Wind submitted a proposal to deliver power generated by its 800MW offshore wind farm some 14 miles from Martha’s Vineyard in December 2017, shortly after it applied for federal and state construction permits.

By filing for construction permits, the company is on track to completing the permitting process in time to begin in-state construction in 2019, with the wind farm fully operational by 2021.

Besides Vineyard Wind, Bay State Wind and Revolution Wind have acquired lease rights to build wind projects offshore Massachusetts.