RES Americas enters agreement to transfer U.S. Offshore Wind Development Project to DONG Energy

RES America Developments Inc. (RES), a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas), has reached an agreement to transfer to DONG Energy a U.S. offshore wind development project off the coast of Massachusetts.

On 29 January, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a commercial auction in the state of Massachusetts of offshore wind development projects with a capacity of approximately 4,000 MW. RES, one of the leading U.S. renewable energy developers with over 15 years of European offshore wind experience through its parent company, participated in the auction and secured a lease for Area OCS-A 0500, an area which could accommodate more than 1,000 MW to be built after 2020. RES has applied to the BOEM to transfer its rights to this area to DONG Energy.

In 2014, RES and DONG Energy agreed to cooperate on offshore wind projects in Massachusetts. Under that agreement, and subject to the approval of the BOEM, DONG Energy will take over the lease and lead project development activities, with support from RES Americas.

Glen Davis, CEO of RES Americas, stated:

“This project is a major undertaking that will help ISO-NE achieve its low carbon electricity generation objectives and create significant new investment in the region. DONG Energy is a market leader in the offshore sector and RES will be drawing upon our nearly 20 years of onshore wind experience in the U.S. together with our 15 years of European offshore wind experience to support this important new development.”.

Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President of Wind Power at DONG Energy, stated:

“The U.S. is an interesting market for offshore wind with the potential to become a significant area for future development. We already have a number of post 2020 projects in our pipeline in North-Western Europe that we’ll continue to develop. With the takeover of the offshore wind development project in the U.S., we will broaden our geographical scope and follow the market potential outside of our current focus area."

The Lease Area to be transferred is 293.44 square miles, and is located approximately 56 miles from shore with water depths between 131 and164 feet.