Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has entered into a project labor agreement with the Massachusetts Building Trades and local union affiliates for the construction beginning later this year of the 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project in the US.

The deal will deliver around 500 union jobs and a renewable energy source that will provide power to more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts. The project is expected to save ratepayers $1.4bn over the first 20 years of operation and reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6m tons per year.

The Southeastern Massachusetts Building Trades Council represents thousands of workers throughout the South Coast, Cape Cod and Islands. The terms of the agreement will ensure that a majority of the workforce will be from local communities, specifically from Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, and Dukes Counties, in addition to setting concrete hiring targets for women and people of color.

“The signing of this project labor agreement is the culmination of our long-standing promise to the working people of Massachusetts,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars T. Pedersen. “We now have an agreement in place that will make sure local residents on the South Coast, Cape and Islands, can reap the greatest possible benefit from this new and growing industry. And beyond that, it’s a commitment to make sure we have a diversified workforce that represents the communities where we work, so that we can open the doors of opportunity as wide as possible.”

Vineyard Wind 1 is located some 24 km off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US. It should reach a financial close in the second half of 2021 and begin delivering clean energy to Massachusetts in 2023.