Cape Wind has signed a $15 Million contract with Falmouth-based Lawrence-Lynch Corp. to provide the upland construction work required to bury Cape Wind’s electric cables.
Lawrence-Lynch Corp. will also be responsible for providing a conduit for connecting the buried electric cables on land to the submerged ocean submarine cables by using a ‘directional drill’ from the landfall point in West Yarmouth out to a temporary cofferdam they will construct in Lewis Bay.
“We are delighted to be working with an experienced Cape Cod contractor that can play this important role in building America’s first offshore wind farm,” said Cape Wind President Jim Gordon.
Lawrence-Lynch Corp.’s work will begin in 2014.
“We are excited about both the size and scope the Cape Wind project offers to our company; constructing the Cape Wind infrastructure system from out on Lewis Bay up to the Barnstable sub-station affords us opportunities that are not often available to the local contracting pool,” said Lawrence-Lynch Corp. President Chris Lynch. “This commitment from Cape Wind provides us a great opportunity to both retain and add to our current employment structure, securing work for both management and the trades,” Lynch continued.
Lawrence-Lynch Corp. has been in business in Falmouth for over 40 years.
“This partnership will ensure that when Cape Wind becomes America’s first offshore wind development, it won’t just be built off the shores of Massachusetts, it will be built with Massachusetts workers,” said Senator-elect Ed Markey. “70,000 Massachusetts workers already are building a new clean energy future for our Commonwealth and our nation and this vital project adds to that growing sector of our economy.”
“The selection of Falmouth-based Lawrence-Lynch Corp demonstrates the positive impact this project will have on our local economy and work force,” said Congressman Bill Keating who represents the 9th Congressional District of Massachusetts, which includes the Cape and Islands. “The contract with Lawrence-Lynch Corp. is one step in the right direction toward making this a community project with broad regional benefits,” Keating continued.
Lawrence-Lynch Corp. is based on Gifford Street in Falmouth and employs up to 100 people.
“The Patrick Administration remains committed to growing the clean energy sector in Massachusetts to protect our environment create jobs and boost the Commonwealth’s economy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan . “We are thrilled that Cape Wind has chosen a local contractor to provide this critical construction work to make the nation’s first offshore wind farm a reality.”
This announcement deepens Cape Wind’s ties to the Town of Falmouth; Cape Wind is purchasing a marina on Falmouth Harbor to serve as its Headquarters for its 50 operations and maintenance staff.
Falmouth Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jay Zavala also welcomed the news, “The Falmouth Chamber of Commerce is always pleased to see member-to-member business interaction; it is a hallmark of belonging to this organization. “Working together, our members, Cape Wind and Lawrence-Lynch Corp., are fulfilling the enviable promise of local job creation and positive economic growth,” Zavala continued.
Cape Wind’s announcement comes less than a week following President Obama’s announcement of a major new initiative to mitigate climate change. Cape Wind will offset over 770,000 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution annually, an amount equivalent to taking 175,000 cars off the road each year. Cape Wind is just the beginning; a study by the University of Delaware found there is a large enough wind resource offshore the area from Cape Cod to North Carolina to provide more than the entire electric demand of those coastal states and reduce the CO2 emissions they emit by over two thirds.
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Press release, July 1, 2013; Image: capewind