NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Vineyard Wind, an offshore wind energy developer vying to build the first utility-scale project off the coast of Massachusetts, is transitioning its organization to prepare for the construction phase of its project, naming longtime offshore wind industry expert Lars Thaaning Pedersen as its new CEO and Iain Henderson as its CFO.
Erich Stephens, who has led development of the project since 2014, will become Vineyard Wind’s Chief Development Officer, and will continue his work focusing on the pre-construction development of the project.
The executive team additions were part of a long-planned evolution by project owners Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables aimed at bolstering the team with industry experts with a long track record of successfully constructing and operating projects in Europe.
“As we grow our team in Massachusetts, we have assembled some of the best people in the offshore wind industry to advance our effort,” said Pedersen. “With Erich’s unrivalled experience developing offshore wind in the US, leading the Vineyard Wind project from its inception, and the addition of Iain to our team, we believe we will be able to soon deliver the best possible offshore wind project for Massachusetts. We’re looking forward to building the offshore wind industry here in New England and I am excited to be a part of the team.
Lars Thaaning Pedersen
Prior to relocating to Massachusetts and being named CEO, Pedersen had served as the project director for Vineyard Wind on behalf of Copenhagen Offshore Partners, the offshore wind development company of CIP.
Pedersen has a deep background in the offshore wind industry since 2008. As co-CEO of Copenhagen Offshore Partners, Pedersen has overseen the development of three offshore wind projects since 2014, including a project off the coast of Canada and one in Europe. Prior to COP, Pedersen had been an executive at DONG Energy, the Danish offshore wind company for about 10 years. At DONG Energy, Pedersen most recently served as Senior Vice President, Market Development & Asset Management. In that role, Pedersen oversaw the Development and Operations of more than 10 European offshore wind projects.
Iain Henderson
Prior to joining Vineyard Wind, Henderson was the Head of Regulated Transactions for Scottish Power’s Renewables business unit for seven years. He’s been with Scottish Power for a total of 18 years. Scottish Power is a subsidiary of Iberdrola, the utility that also owns Avangrid Renewables, one of the owners of Vineyard Wind. At Scottish Power, Henderson managed the divestment of offshore transmission assets of the company and managed agreements with joint venture partners.
About Vineyard Wind
Vineyard Wind, a portfolio company of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables, is an offshore wind development company, based in New Bedford, Mass., that is seeking to build the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the US.
Vineyard Wind is one of three companies that has acquired lease rights to build wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts. Vineyard Wind’s project area is about 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Last summer, Massachusetts required utilities to procure 1,600 megawatts (MW) of clean, offshore wind energy within the next decade. When the 1,600 MW of generation capacity are operational, they will generate enough clean, homegrown energy to power the equivalent of more than 750,000 Massachusetts homes every year.
