Wind turbine components for Vineyard Wind are expected to begin arriving in New Bedford at the end of April or the beginning of May, according to CEO Klaus Moeller.
Several barges will arrive each week carrying tower sections, massive blades, and other parts.
“It takes three days to unload a vessel like that,” he said. “So you will have a lot of activity. Even if it's just one vessel, it will stay there for a while.”
Each blade is about the length of a football field.
Workers will partially assemble the turbines at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal before installation starts this summer.
A massive crane for Vineyard Wind was under construction this week on the New Bedford waterfront. It could be finished any day, Moeller said.
The crane will unload turbine parts from incoming barges, and then eventually place partially assembled turbines on another barge for installation.
Meanwhile, the first six monopile foundations are already loaded on a vessel for the two-week trip across the Atlantic from Germany.
“They're taking the monopiles from the manufacturing hall and onto a transport vessel,” Moeller said. “They go in batches of six, so it's the first six monopiles.”
He said worries about the supply chain for steel are behind them, and the schedule now hinges on manufacturing, shipping, and weather. Vineyard Wind is still on track to begin generating power by the end of the year, he said.
On Martha’s Vineyard, the company is building an operations and maintenance facility and a helicopter hangar.
Once construction is complete, 50 technicians will have ongoing employment on the wind farm.
Several lawsuits that could affect Vineyard Wind are still pending.
A spokesman said the company won’t comment on the litigation.
—
Related: Ever wonder how they build turbines at sea? Here's what it takes to create an American wind farm
