Please see the Project Documents page for postings of prior public meetings and upcoming events.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
About the Project
The Salem Offshore Wind Terminal is a private-public partnership between the City of Salem and Crowley to develop, build and operate the state’s second major offshore wind port. Founded in 1892, Crowley is a privately held, U.S.-owned and -operated maritime, energy and logistics solutions company serving commercial and government sectors with nearly $2.9 billion in annual revenues, over 170 vessels mostly in the Jones Act fleet and approximately 7,000 employees around the world – employing more U.S. mariners than any other company. With decades of history in providing maritime and energy services, the company operates Crowley Wind Services to provide turn-key, end-to-send supply chain services for the wind energy industry.
The first tenant, Avangrid Renewables, LLC, is a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., and part of the IBERDROLA Group. Avangrid is a leading renewable energy company in the United States, owning and operating a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the U.S. Crowley is responsible for port design and construction management. Once construction is complete, Crowley will manage port and vessel operations for the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal. Crowley is the main point of contact for the project. For more information on Crowley and other services they provide, please visit www.Crowley.com. Avangrid will be the first lease holder once the construction is complete and will use the new facility as a marshalling port for offshore wind components. For more information about Avangrid, visit www.avangridrenewables.com.
As a municipal leader in reducing the impacts of climate change, the City of Salem is an important partner and included in many aspects of the development process. The City will own a portion of the property and plans to lease that area back to Crowley for operation of the Terminal. This will preserve the City’s long-term interests in the port and to facilitate future access to the harbor. The project is aligned with the City’s support of reaching 100% clean, renewable energy in the Commonwealth by reducing fossil fuel use and expanding clean energy.
All parties will share in workforce development, community engagement, grant funding and other services.
The Salem Offshore Wind Terminal will be used for staging and partial assembly of turbine components – including blades, nacelles, and tower sections – as the components are prepared for offshore installation. Components will be shipped from manufacturing facilities across the globe to Salem and loaded onto specialized vessels for offshore installation.
Salem Harbor, a Designated Port Area of Salem, is uniquely positioned to host an offshore wind terminal. To accommodate the scale of the turbines and their components, ports must have no vertical restrictions, a heavy lift capable wharf to support the loading and unloading of the turbine components, sufficient upland space to maneuver, store and preassemble the turbines and equipment, and relative proximity to wind farms in the region.
Salem Harbor is one of the few ports in the country that meets these requirements, and the only suitable port left in Massachusetts.
This project will be funded by a combination of private sources and state and federal funding. Multiple state and federal grant programs are currently available to help fund projects that create renewable energy opportunities.
The Salem Offshore Wind facility is part of a larger effort by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to shift our energy consumption away from fossil fuels toward renewable sources like offshore wind. The project supports the vision and goals of the state by building clean energy infrastructure in Massachusetts through the transformation of a property that once hosted a coal-fired power plant, into a clean energy hub. The Salem Offshore Wind facility will be a critical component in meeting the Commonwealth’s climate change, local workforce, and economic goals through investing in offshore wind.
Once operational, the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal will support a number of offshore wind projects. The first two projects deployed from Salem by Avangrid, will provide 2 gigawatts of clean power. This is roughly equal to removing over 500,000 vehicles from our roadways or powering over 1 million homes with clean energy.
The facility is intended to support the offshore wind industry, which is just beginning and growing in the United States. Construction of offshore wind facilities is anticipated to continue for many years, after which the industry will shift to the long-term operation and maintenance of offshore wind facilities which will also be accommodated at this port.
Delivery and installation vessels will be making use of the federal access channel and state turning basin during offshore wind construction. The turning basin will not be available for recreational boating. No impacts are foreseen on the fishing industry.
About Salem
The City of Salem will own approximately five acres of the property under the current joint cooperation agreement. The City-owned property will be leased back to Crowley in support of the project, but will preserve the City’s long term interests in the port in the future when the site is no longer being utilized for offshore wind. The City-owned property will also ensure cruise ships and other visiting vessels can continue to access the wharf. The City of Salem will also be part of the permitting process for the facility through the Salem Zoning Board of Appeals, Salem Planning Board, and the Conservation Commission.
The project’s benefits include:
- Create and support hundreds of clean energy jobs during and post construction
- Significantly invest in improvements to the city’s historic port at former coal energy site.
- Improve port infrastructure for cruise ships and other commercial marine uses
- Create opportunities for community partnerships in new science, education, and local workforce development initiatives
Lead the way in the fight to reduce the Commonwealth’s carbon footprint.
The wind turbine components staged and assembled at the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal will initially support two of Avangrid’s offshore wind projects and is expected to support additional projects in the New England area in the future. The energy from these projects will benefit New England by providing clean renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions, providing increased reliability, and additional capacity to the electric grid. The projects will generate substantial job opportunities, as well as numerous direct and indirect contributions to the economy at the state and local level. In addition to the job and economic growth, the projects will support important research initiatives through partnerships with local universities, stakeholder groups, and research organizations providing important data on the impacts of offshore wind development on the marine environment.
No, the Salem Wind Terminal will not have fully assembled, active and spinning wind turbines like a wind farm. The terminal is designed to support the offshore construction of wind farms, and is not a wind farm itself. Pieces of those turbines will be prepared and/or pre-assembled into larger pieces, such as stacking small tower sections into larger tower sections, or doing final outfitting and testing of a nacelle (the generator), and be loaded onto offshore transportation vessels still in pieces, where they will be fully assembled offshore.
About the Site
While the specifics of the site are still in development, below is a conceptual layout of the facility.
Limited increased traffic to and from the site will occur during construction of the new facility, although, where feasible, deliveries by barge will be mandated. Truck routes will be established and enforced during construction through the preparation of a Traffic Management Plan. Once construction at the site is completed and normal operations begin, it is not expected to have any significant traffic impacts.
We are creating a new Waterfront Access Point at the end of Blaney street which is on the Salem Wind Terminal property which will be open to the public except during certain times where security or waterfront operations prohibit. This will provide a viewing area on to the terminal and out at the harbor and will also become the entrance to the terminal when it is occasionally used for cruise ships or other public access events. The rest of the terminal is a secure facility, and public access is not permitted. Crowley will also host public tours from time to time in connection with educational programs or community events.