SOMERSET – The former Brayton Point coal plant site is expected to be home to a 1,200-megawatt, high-voltage, direct-current converter substation to serve the emerging offshore wind industry, Commercial Development Co. and Anbaric announced Monday.
The converter project, estimated to be a $250 million investment, will be a partnership between CDC, which owns the property and Anbaric, a Boston-based company that specializes in early-stage development of large-scale electric transmission systems. It will be called the Anbaric Renewable Energy Center.
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The site will be part of the CDC Brayton Point Commerce Center along Mt. Hope Bay. The companies said that the project also will include 400 megawatts of battery storage on site, which was estimated to be an additional $400 million investment in the former coal plant site.
“As Massachusetts considers harnessing more offshore wind, the right infrastructure needs to be envisioned and set in motion,” said Anbaric CEO Edward Krapels in the press releasee announcing the plan. “An HVDC substation is an important piece not only for Brayton Point Commerce Center, but also Massachusetts’ status as a leader in offshore wind.”
CDC said that the partnership will be part of a larger effort to “transform the former coal-fired power plant site into a world-class logistics port, manufacturing hub and support center for the offshore wind energy sector.”
“Developing a landing point for 1,200 MW of offshore wind at the site of a former coal plant physically and symbolically represents the transformation from fossil fuels to wind,” continued Krapels. “While the South Coast has lost a coal plant, it’s quickly becoming the nexus of a new clean energy economy and emerging as one of the great energy stories in the world. This agreement is a symbol of the change that’s coming – and it promises to be a very powerful economic driver in the region.”
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. You may reach him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
