Pioneering US offshore wind farm developer Vineyard Wind has named Rachel Pachter to take over the role of chief development officer from Erich Stephens, one of the founders of the company, who is stepping down from the post.
Pachter, Vineyard’s current vice president of permitting affairs, will take forward the company’s eponymous 800MW Vineyard Wind 1 wind farm off Massachussetts, and other pipeline projects.
“Erich’s leadership and wealth of experience accumulated over the last twenty years in clean energy was instrumental in our winning Massachusetts bid to develop the first large-scale offshore wind energy project in the country,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen.
Rachel’s exceptional offshore wind experience has been critical to Vineyard Wind on many of our most pressing issues in recent years and I congratulate her on this new position.”
Pachter said: “I have much respect for [Stephen’s] work to build Vineyard Wind and I appreciate his trust in our ability to carry the projects forward. I am excited to continue the journey with our team in my new capacity and deliver amazing energy projects to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and others.”
Stephens stated: “My decision to move on to new endeavors was not easy to make, but it was made easier knowing that Vineyard Wind is in the hands of a superb team, and that the Vineyard Wind 1 and Park City Wind project [awarded to the developer by the state of Connecticut in its latest competitive solicitation for offshore wind capacity ] will soon be up and running.”
Plans to develop $2.8bn Vineyard Wind 1 by the developer – a 50-50 joint venture of Iberdrola’s 81.5% owned Avangrid and Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners – have been delayed by the decision by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to expand its environmental review of the project.
