January 14, 2019 — This country’s nascent offshore wind industry doesn’t yet have its own capital city. But Boston could be in the best position of any place to earn that title.
Boston’s reputation gets a significant boost on Friday when executives at MHI Vestas Offshore Wind meet with Governor Charlie Baker to announce plans for the Danish turbine manufacturer to put its US headquarters here.
The new office will be small at first, just a handful of staffers. Employment will grow over time, along with the sector. But its opening is important symbolically, the kind of move that can build momentum by encouraging others to take a look.
The precipitating event: a 2016 state law that requires utilities to buy up to 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power. Vineyard Wind was picked in May to develop an 800-megawatt wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard. In November, the developer said it chose MHI Vestas as its preferred turbine supplier; the project would consist of 84 turbines made by MHI Vestas, with blades reaching as high as 600 feet in the sky.