Deepwater Wind CEO discusses need for New Bedford terminal

JEFF GRYBOWSKI, CEO of Deepwater Wind, speaks at a recent event marking the beginning of construction for the Block Island Wind Farm project at the Quonset Business Park, expected to be operation by fall 2016. Also in attendance was Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
JEFF GRYBOWSKI, CEO of Deepwater Wind, speaks at a recent event marking the beginning of construction for the Block Island Wind Farm project at the Quonset Business Park, expected to be operation by fall 2016. Also in attendance was Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

PROVIDENCE – The CEO of Deepwater Wind LLC, the company behind the Block Island Wind Farm, told National Public Radio that the New Bedford marine commerce terminal remains a wise investment, even as Cape Wind, which was supposed to be its major tenant, has ended its lease there.
“We believe the Northeast is home to some of the country’s best offshore wind port facilities, including Quonset and New Bedford’s facility. Our Block Island project will be based entirely in Rhode Island. Our future projects in the region will certainly require Quonset as a principal port facility, and any large project will likely need to use multiple ports in the region,” Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said in an emailed statement.
The NPR segment detailed how $113 million was spent on the 28-acre New Bedford waterfront terminal to support the wind industry and how Cape Wind was supposed to be the first tenant. But it outlined how the project is “all but dead” after its power purchase agreements fell through, resulting in the end of its $4.5 million two-year terminal lease.
Deepwater is putting up what is expected to be the country’s first offshore wind farm. It will feature five wind turbines, and could put up hundreds more in years to come, the radio network reported.
“These projects are large and complex and they will need to use multiple ports and it is very likely that New Bedford would be needed in this larger strategy,” Grybowski told the radio network.

Last week, Deepwater kicked off construction for the Block Island Wind Farm project with an event at Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown.
The 30-megawatt project is expected to generate more than 125,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually, enough to provide 90 percent of Block Island’s demand and about 1 percent of the state’s demand for electrical power.
It is expected to be operational in fall 2016.
National Grid has a contract to purchase energy produced by the wind farm for 20 years.

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