The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Crowley Wind Services, a global maritime transportation and logistics company, and the City of Salem on February 23, announced the transfer of ownership and an agreement for site improvements and ongoing operations for the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal.
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Once the site of an oil- and coal-fired power plant, this historic agreement will kickstart the transformation of the site into the second port build specifically to support the construction of offshore wind farms in Massachusetts.
The Salem Offshore Wind Terminal is also unique in that it is one of a very few sites that will support the construction and installation of floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine.
Among these transactions is the purchase by MassCEC of more than 42 acres on Salem Harbor and the transfer of a 5-acre parcel to the City of Salem, including the port’s existing deep-water berth.
Massachusetts’s first dedicated offshore wind port is the New Bedford Wind Commerce Center, which is owned and operated by MassCEC, and is currently leased to Vineyard Wind, who in January announced the delivery of the first offshore wind power in the state.
Salem is one of America’s oldest port cities, with a deep connection to the ocean and the economic and energy future of Massachusetts and the nation. The Salem Offshore Wind Terminal location itself was once the site of an oil- and coal-fueled power plant that ceased operation as recently as 2014.
Crowley, which purchased the property in 2022, will manage the site redevelopment and improvements and then serve as the terminal operator, entering into a lease agreement with MassCEC for the ongoing utilization of the property as an offshore wind marshalling port with priority for offshore wind projects serving Massachusetts.
The City of Salem, to further support this historic effort, has leased the berth and its acreage for the same purpose.
Crowley’s Wind Services business unit will start construction in 2024, strengthening the site infrastructure to accommodate heavy machinery and equipment, the construction of a second state-of-the-art ship berth and the upgrade of the City berth to the same standard, and the implementation of dredging activities to enhance the harbor channel.
The port is projected to open in 2026.
Crowley Wind Services, as a full-scope provider of offshore wind services, has actively worked since 2022 to transform the site of a former coal fired power plant in Salem into an asset to support offshore wind development.
Besides operating vessels and terminals, the company provides supply chain management, construction engineering and project management services, and operations and maintenance solutions, with Salem project management based in Massachusetts.
ogether with the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal represents a critical piece of infrastructure for Massachusetts climate goals.
In the U.S., the shortage of adequate port facilities for offshore wind has been identified as one the key areas of risk for meeting state and national goals, and market analysis indicates that more than one marshalling port will be necessary to meet Massachusetts’ timeline and goals for offshore wind.
The MassCEC New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal, a multi-purpose facility designed to support the construction, assembly, and deployment of offshore wind projects, as well as handle bulk, break-bulk, container shipping and large specialty marine cargo, is the first of its kind in North America.
The MassCEC Wind Technology Testing Center, located in Charlestown, Massachusetts provides a full suite of certification tests for turbine blades up to 90 meters in length, and brings the latest wind turbine blade testing and prototype development methodologies to help the wind industry deploy the next generation of land-based and offshore wind turbine technologies. ■