(BOSTON) – Vineyard Offshore today announced that Christian R. Scorzoni has joined the company as Vice President & Head of External Affairs. Christian will be joining Vineyard Offshore’s executive management team, where he will be leading policy development, regulatory and government affairs and strategic communications.

“I am incredibly proud to announce that Christian is joining the executive management team of Vineyard Offshore,” said Lars T. Pedersen, CEO of Vineyard Offshore. “I have had the pleasure of working together with Christian since 2016 and he is one of the most accomplished and highly regarded professionals in his field in the Offshore Wind industry. Christian joining the Vineyard Offshore team full time will strengthen our outreach and collaboration with all stakeholders as we prepare to develop more than 6GW of projects on our existing leases on the East and West Coast, as well as preparing for future lease auctions”

After successfully co-managing the consulting firm Travaglini, Scorzoni & Kiley (TSK), Scorzoni will be stepping down. Over the past thirteen years, Christian grew TSK into one of New England’s leading government affairs firms focused on renewable energy. He has provided strategic counsel to a number of leading companies and trade organizations in the clean energy space, including: the Solar Energy Industries Association, NextEra, LS Power, Emera, Prysmian Group, Honeywell, ClearResult, Crowley Maritime, Cypress Creek Renewables, EDF Renewables, and Greentown Labs.

“I’m thrilled to be jumping in full-time with one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative energy companies in the offshore wind industry,” stated Scorzoni. “I look forward to joining their leadership team to help build out the North American market.”

Christian has worked closely with Vineyard Wind since 2016, working as a consultant to provide strategic counsel and government affairs support for the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project, which is currently under construction. Christian has also helped manage broader regulatory and government affairs outreach throughout the Northeast and Washington D.C. for the company in this role.

Vineyard Offshore is leading the development of two lease areas in the Northeast, in addition to the recently acquired lease in Northern California, OCS – P 0562. Lease area OCS-A 522, known as Vineyard Northeast, is located off the coast of Massachusetts. OCS-A 544, known as Vineyard Mid-Atlantic, is located in the New York Bight. Both lease areas are owned by the CI-IV fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).  Combined with the 50% ownership of the Vineyard Wind 1 project, Vineyard Offshore has the potential to develop more than 4 gigawatts of clean, renewable and affordable energy on the East Coast of the United States, enough to power at least 2.4 million homes.

Christian previously served as Assistant Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs under Deval Patrick where he managed the policy development and implementation of several landmark energy bills in 2008, including the Green Communities Act, the Global Warming Solutions Act, and the Green Jobs Act. He also served nearly ten years in the Massachusetts State Senate as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legal Counsel to Senate President Robert E. Travaglini.

Christian received a B.A. in Political Science at the American University in Washington, DC and received his J.D. from Suffolk Law School in Boston. He currently lives in Amesbury, Massachusetts with his wife Melissa and three children – Andrew, William and Olivia.