SALEM — Mayor Kimberley Driscoll led a tour for state lawmakers on Friday to present the site for the city’s future offshore-wind marshalling site proposed on Salem Harbor, which will be constructed in the fall.
“We think it’s an amazing opportunity for our city, our region and frankly our commonwealth and our country to have a clean energy base in Salem,” Driscoll said. “Offshore wind is something that the eastern seaboard is looking at and we are fortunate to have the right amenities.”
Notable lawmakers that attended the tour included Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy), Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland), state Rep. Paul Tucker (D-Salem) and state Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem).
Spilka said she and the other lawmakers visited the 42-acre site to learn about the demand for offshore wind in the area.
“This is the initial meeting to learn more about it,” Spilka said. “It’s about bringing more offshore wind and cleaner energy to meet our renewable-energy goals.”
Lovely said she was looking forward to seeing the terminal being built to offer more wind energy to consumers across the state and help create new jobs focused on wind-farm production.
“As the president said, this will help with job production,” Lovely said. “It will help with jobs and help make a cleaner earth.”
The site sits next to the Salem Harbor Power Station, the city’s natural gas-fired power plant. The building of the terminal would act as the transition from natural gas to wind energy, eventually leading to the year 2050 when the gas plant is set to be phased out.
The offshore-wind marshalling site is the product of a partnership with the Salem Harbor Port Authority, Crowley Maritime, Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
The project, named Vineyard Wind, would establish Salem Harbor as an offshore-wind marshalling site that ships and produces parts for wind farms and wind turbines. Ships from the port would transport these parts across the Atlantic Ocean, turning the port into an active shipping yard for wind farms.
The Vineyard Wind Farm is estimated to create up to 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration chose Salem as one of two offshore-wind terminal sites. The other site, dubbed Mayflower Wind, is a joint project between Boston and Fall River that would develop up to 400 MW of offshore-wind power off of Martha’s Vineyard.
Driscoll, who is running for lieutenant governor, said she will continue to vouch for clean energy no matter her position in government.
“I want to have a role in touting clean energy in any way (I can),” Driscoll said.
But elected officials are not the only ones excited about this project. Peg Harrington, a Salem resident who lives next to the site, said she is thrilled by the building of the new terminal. She said that not only will the port provide more job opportunities, but because the parts will be transported mainly by sea, it would not disrupt the neighborhood.
“I think it’s great for the city,” Harrington said. “They can bring everything by barge and it won’t intrude on the city.”
