Press Releases
10/02/2020
Avangrid Renewables adds Bill White, Sy Oytan to Offshore Wind Leadership Team
Avangrid Renewables adds Bill White, Sy Oytan to Offshore Wind Leadership Team
Avangrid Renewables adds Bill White, Sy Oytan to Offshore Wind Leadership Team
Industry veterans strengthen Avangrid Renewables’ leadership in offshore wind
Portland, Ore. — October 1, 2020 — Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) and a leading developer of utility-scale solar, onshore and offshore wind projects, today announced the appointment of Bill White as head of U.S. offshore wind and Sy Oytan as deputy CEO of Vineyard Wind. Through its partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Avangrid Renewables is jointly developing Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, and Park City Wind, which will supply Massachusetts and Connecticut, respectively, with clean renewable energy.
White will lead the development and implementation of Avangrid Renewables’ overall offshore wind strategy in the U.S. Oytan will be joining White’s team and will oversee business management, finance, development and delivery for the Vineyard Wind and Park City projects.
“Throughout his career, Bill has helped lay the foundation for the U.S. offshore wind industry. His experience, expertise and relationships will further strengthen Avangrid Renewables’ position as an industry leader,” said president and CEO of Avangrid Renewables Alejandro de Hoz. “Sy’s background in offshore wind project development and delivery makes him a tremendous addition to our team. His expertise will facilitate the successful development of these two groundbreaking offshore wind projects for Massachusetts and Connecticut.”
In addition to the two southern New England projects, Avangrid Renewables is developing its wholly-owned Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project, a proposed 2,500 megawatt offshore wind project off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina. In total, Avangrid Renewables has an offshore wind development pipeline of nearly five gigawatts, enough to power approximately two million American homes.
“I’m proud to join the pioneers of the North American offshore wind industry,” said White. “Avangrid Renewables is leading a new American energy transition that will create thousands of jobs while producing clean, affordable energy to tackle our mounting climate emergency. I am thrilled to join such a strong team dedicated to launching the future of U.S. clean energy offshore.”
Prior to joining Avangrid Renewables, White served as President and CEO of EnBW North America, the U.S. offshore wind subsidiary of the German utility. He was previously the senior director of offshore wind sector development for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center where he led the state’s offshore wind planning efforts and directed initiatives to support the responsible siting of offshore wind projects.
Additionally, White served in the White House as a special assistant to the president and as assistant secretary at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. He is a graduate of Boston College’s School of Management and the Harvard Kennedy School.
“Vineyard Wind is breaking new ground with the first large-scale offshore wind farms in the waters of the United States,” said Oytan. “Joining the team that’s helping make this project a reality and growing a new U.S. industry is a terrific opportunity.”
Oytan joins Avangrid Renewables from Arup, where he led offshore wind development efforts for the multinational engineering firm. Previously, he worked for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority where he spearheaded a range of offshore wind port and supply chain development initiatives for the State of New Jersey. During his career, he led the development, delivery, construction and advisory on 6.5 GW of onshore and offshore wind energy projects in the US, Europe and Asia. He has also held a variety of leadership positions at Siemens Gamesa and Schlumberger. He is a mechanical engineer with a master’s degree in Industrial Management from Clemson University.
White and Oytan will be based, respectively, in Avangrid Renewables’ and Vineyard Wind’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts.
# # #
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
