INTERCONNECTING IN BARNSTABLE
Avangrid is developing the New England Wind 1 project, which will deliver up to 800 Megawatts of clean, affordable, and renewable electricity to the New England grid.
New England Wind 1 includes offshore wind turbine generators in Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Area OCS-A 0534 along with associated offshore substation, offshore and onshore cabling, and onshore substation.
New England Wind 1 is currently engaged in permitting processes at the federal, state, regional, and local level and consulting with Tribal Nations and federal, state, and local agencies.
Avangrid is committed to responsible development, environmental protection, and minimizing impacts to Barnstable residents, businesses, and visitors during construction of all aspects of the proposed project.
Components of the project located within the Town of Barnstable include:
Installation of two cables through approximately 6.9 miles of state waters
Approximately 4 miles of underground utility infrastructure, running from the landfall site (paved parking lot at Craigville Beach) to the proposed substation
A proposed substation located at 6 and 8 Shootflying Hill Road
Approximately 0.7 miles of underground utility infrastructure from the proposed substation to the existing West Barnstable Substation, owned by Eversource
New equipment at the existing West Barnstable Substation on Oak Street to facilitate the project’s interconnection into the ISO-NE electrical grid
PROJECT UPDATES IN BARNSTABLE
There are no current or upcoming survery or construction updates for New England Wind 1 in the Town of Barnstable.
Past Survey and Construction Updates
Host Community Agreement
In May 2022, Avangrid entered into a Host Community Agreement with the Town of Barnstable for the New England Wind 1 project, formerly known as the Park City Wind project. The agreement represents a key milestone for the project and positions the Town of Barnstable to secure significant local benefits from the continued development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.
As part of the agreement, Avangrid will pay the Town of Barnstable $16 million as a host community fee, above and beyond the applicable commercial and property taxes that will be assessed by the town. Additionally, Avangrid will limit installation at Craigville Beach parking lot and along roadways to the non-summer months. Upon completion, Avangrid will repave roadways and the parking lot at Craigville Beach, which will be used for temporary staging. Avangrid has also committed to taking extra measures, above and beyond standard engineering practice, to protect groundwater in Barnstable at the site of the electric substation for Park City Wind.
In Barnstable, New England Wind 1’s infrastructure includes subsea transmission cables buried beneath the seafloor, cables installed deep below Craigville Beach using trenchless methods, and duct banks buried beneath the Craigville Beach parking lot and public roadways to a substation connection at Shootflying Hill Road. To minimize short-term traffic impacts, Avangrid is collaborating with the Town of Barnstable on their planned installation of a municipal wastewater line along the proposed route and defraying some construction costs for the Town. Click here to read the full Host Community Agreement.