Layoffs at CIP's Vineyard Offshore confirmed amid US wind turbulence
Danish investment fund’s American subsidiary has made big lease plays along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts but finds itself stymied by state and federal uncertainty
Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) confirmed that some 50 workers, including contractors, have been laid off at its US subsidiary Vineyard Offshore as local sector market conditions deteriorate.
“We look forward to continuing to advance these transformative American energy projects in the years ahead.”
The 50 jobs eliminated were a mix of unfilled positions, contractors, and regular employees in both the US and Europe. Some individuals were reassigned to projects outside the US.
CIP is half of the joint venture (JV) with Iberdrola’s Avangrid developing US flagship Vineyard Wind 1 that has struggled to build out its 800MW capacity amid a blade failure that led to a lengthy construction stay last summer.
GE Vernova, supplier of its 13MW Haliade-X turbines, said it will complete turbine installation by the end of this year.
Vineyard Offshore has made big plays in US offshore wind, including acquiring a 43,000-acre (174 sq. km) lease in the New York Bight in 2022 that, while the cheapest in the mega-round, still set the developer back $285m.
The developer also bought acreage in the Humboldt wind energy area (WEA) off Northern California for $173m also in 2022, along with a lease purchased in 2018 in the Massachusetts WEA for $135m.
These moves largely happened under sector supporter, former President Joe Biden, who set a national goal of 30GW by 2030 that is now being derailed by Donald Trump.
On his first day in office, he issued a sweeping executive order that includes provisions for reviewing even existing projects with an eye toward termination and offering the Department of Justice the option of not defending projects from litigation.
Even before Trump, however, the developer struggled to gain offtake contracts.
Its Excelsior Wind had been awarded offtake in the New York Round 3 that was later voided by the state over disputes with GE Vernova over the capacity turbine it planned to build.
The developer likewise saw disappointment in the New England tristate procurement last fall that saw Massachusetts award 800MW to its Vineyard Wind 2 array, but Connecticut decline to take up the remaining 400MW of the 1.2GW project.