Vineyard Wind, a company with plans to construct offshore wind farms in the U.S., has appointed Sy Oytan as Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
Vineyard Wind is, a 50/50 joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Sy Oytan is seconded from Avangrid Renewables.
Oytan joins Vineyard Wind from Arup, an international offshore wind consultancy. The current Deputy CEO, Alan Hannah, is stepping down and will return to the UK. He will remain with the company for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition.
Hannah joined Vineyard Wind in 2019, also seconded from Avangrid Renewables, to oversee the management of the company while focusing specifically on the finance and business case development for Vineyard Wind projects.
Sy Oytan has 24 years of experience in the development and construction of international onshore and offshore wind projects in U.S., Europe, and Asia.
During his career, he led development, delivery, construction, and advisory on 6.5 GW of onshore and offshore wind energy projects.
Moreover, Vineyard Wind said in a statement, he led a range of offshore wind port and supply chain development initiatives for the state of New Jersey with a $400 million strategic investment plan.
"Sy’s experience in the renewable industry will be a great asset to the team and I welcome his appointment,” said Lars T. Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Wind. “He will be an integral part of a project that will create thousands of jobs in the U.S. and lower energy costs for consumers.”
According to Vineyard Wind, Oytan’s work to date has included almost all aspects of wind farm and large-scale power generation projects. He has held a variety of leadership positions at Arup, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Siemens Gamesa and Schlumberger. He is a mechanical engineer with a master’s degree in Industrial Management from Clemson University.
Vineyard Wind is developing what it says is the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the coastal waters of the United States.
Vineyard Wind I project, which the company says could become operational as early as 2023, will be an 800 MW offshore wind farm delivering power to Massachusetts.
To remind, the operator back in February said it would miss its target to start sending power from the project to Massachusetts by 2022 due to lengthy federal permitting delays.