“Mayflower Wind is committed to helping Massachusetts and New England achieve their ambitious clean energy goals,” said Michael Brown, Mayflower Wind CEO. “The transmission infrastructure at Brayton Point initially developed by Anbaric and now owned by Mayflower, will help us make those goals a reality. We look forward to collaborating with the community as we invest in and develop this project to bring clean energy to Brayton Point and beyond.”

The Mayflower Wind offshore wind energy project will use high-voltage direct current technology that minimizes marine cabling, reduces energy losses and strengthens the New England grid. Anbaric has taken steps to make Brayton Point, which is located on a waterfront, as an optimal location to integrate offshore wind into the New England electric grid.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Mayflower Wind to bring our unique expertise to scale offshore wind and achieve renewable energy goals,” said Clarke Bruno, Anbaric CEO. “Brayton Point is a unique site to bring offshore wind to our shores while also bringing infrastructure investment and responsible development to the local community.”

If fully built out, Mayflower Wind’s lease area will supply over 2,000 MW of offshore wind. This cable landing in Somerset will supplement Mayflower’s long-standing and continuing efforts in Falmouth on Cape Cod.

“This marks the beginning of positive change for Brayton Point, and puts this piece of land on a path toward becoming a thriving hub for offshore wind,” said State Rep. Patricia Haddad. “Anbaric had the early vision to bring offshore wind to Brayton Point. Repurposing this valuable grid infrastructure for offshore wind is the first step to growing the industry right here in Somerset and realizing a vision that has been years in the making.”

For 50 years, Brayton Point was home to the 1,600 MW coal-fired Brayton Point Power Station, the largest coal-fired power plant in New England and the last in Massachusetts. The plant was closed in 2017, and in 2019 Anbaric presented a vision to create a Renewable Energy Center on the site of the shuttered plant. One aspect of that vision was bringing power ashore at Brayton Point — Mayflower Wind is now making that a reality.

Mayflower Wind is continuing with its efforts in Falmouth to connect its first 804-MW project into the New England electric grid via the Cape Cod interconnection point.

“Massachusetts just issued its third solicitation to bring up to another 1,600 MW of offshore wind online,” Brown said. “Mayflower Wind looks forward to delivering on the Commonwealth’s commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Our position at Brayton Point only strengthens our efforts to provide additional clean offshore wind energy to New England.”

News item from Mayflower Wind

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Public versions of Mayflower Wind’s bids are available here.

Mayflower Wind submitted three 800-MW proposals and a 400-MW proposal to the Massachusetts electric utilities.

“We are very excited to submit these proposals to provide the utilities implementing the Commonwealth’s offshore wind policy with a range of options,” said John Hartnett, President of Mayflower Wind. “The Low Price Energy proposal includes strong support for research, workforce training, and economic development. Our Infrastructure and Innovation proposal adds significant strategic investments in port infrastructure and technology to the South Coast, boosting the fledgling offshore wind industry and the economy of the Commonwealth.”

Hartnett added: “Finally, our Massachusetts Manufacturing proposal would further accelerate the process of Massachusetts assuming a leadership role in offshore wind by including a major new manufacturing facility that would serve both domestic and foreign offshore wind markets.”

In the months since Mayflower Wind acquired a Federal offshore wind lease, it has engaged with the fishing industry, local communities, tribal representatives and local governments on the South Coast and Cape Cod, completed conceptual design of an entire offshore wind farm, filed for initial permits with the federal regulatory agency and begun the process of pre-construction surveys.

Mayflower Wind brings deep experience and skills of its parent companies, Shell and EDP Renewables, to Massachusetts. These include successfully developing, permitting, financing, constructing, and operating offshore and onshore wind projects and offshore production facilities.

Mayflower Wind draws on the experience of its parent companies who have the combined strength of more than 18,000 U.S. employees, a supply chain of more than 5,000 U.S. companies of which more than 800 are small businesses or women and minority-owned enterprises, $400 billion in market capitalization, experience operating 6,300 MW of onshore wind in the U.S. and ongoing development and construction of 2,700 MW of offshore wind projects in France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Scotland that are anticipated to be operational between now and 2023.

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A new EDP Renewables and Shell joint venture, Mayflower Wind Energy LLC, wins today’s offshore wind auction, and is aiming for an operational wind farm by the mid-2020s.

Mayflower is a 50/50 joint venture between EDPR Offshore North America LLC (EDPR) and Shell New Energies US LLC. Once constructed, the lease area could accommodate a total generation capacity of approximately 1.6 GW, or enough to power more than 680,000 average Massachusetts homes with clean electricity each year.

“Mayflower’s entry into U.S. offshore wind is exciting and will leverage Shell and EDPR’s years of combined wind development and offshore experience,” said John Hartnett, Director, Mayflower. “We commend BOEM on a successful bid round and look forward to working with local groups and communities to realize this opportunity.”

A growing population and rising living standards alongside the need for a reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions will require changes to the energy system. Given this changing energy landscape, Shell is seeking commercial opportunities to expand its existing electricity generation from renewable power, including offshore wind, with the aim of providing customers with more and cleaner energy.

This announcement enables EDPR to increase its growth options in the attractive offshore wind market, thereby enhancing and diversifying the company’s long-term profitable growth options while maintaining a balanced risk profile. Mayflower will begin working to complete a site assessment plan and initiate formal development efforts on the site, and subject to a positive final investment decision, could bring the wind farm into operation by the mid-2020s.

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