Danish wind giant Ørsted and energy company Eversource formed the “Revolution Wind” joint venture to offer “unparalleled experience” to Connecticut and Rhode Island.
On Tuesday, the US Department of the Interior finally approved the proposed offshore wind farm. It marked the agency’s fourth authorization of such a project, including the following:
- Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts
- South Fork Wind off Rhode Island and New York
- Ocean Wind 1 off New Jersey
“The US offshore wind industry is on the move; the steady stream of offshore wind project environmental reviews is critical to the success of supply chain investments, and today’s announcement bolsters investments in component production at ProvPort in Rhode Island, cable manufacturing in South Carolina, steel fabrication in western New York, and shipbuilding in Texas and Louisiana.”
And Liz Burdock, Business Network Founder/CEO for Offshore Wind
Revolution Wind details
Ørsted and Eversource aims to initiate onshore development at the site in the following weeks. Meanwhile, offshore construction will accelerate as early as 2024 and become operational in 2025.
This enormous offshore wind farm is “approximately 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast, 32 miles southeast of the Connecticut coast, and 12 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard,” Revolution Wind’s official website indicated.
Remarkably, it is expected to generate a total of 704 MW of 100% renewable offshore wind energy. The JV will deliver 304 MW to Connecticut. Meanwhile, the remaining 400 MW is for Rhode Island. That amount of power can sufficiently power 350,000+ households throughout the two covered US states.
In addition, the project’s construction can also generate approximately 1,200 job opportunities for residents.
DOI Secretary Deb Haaland emphasized Biden’s 2030 objective to generate 30GW offshore wind.
“…and I am more confident than ever that we will meet it. Together with industry, labor, and partners from coast to coast, we are building an entirely new industry off the east and west and Gulf coasts.”
Deb Haaland, DOI Secretary
See Also:
- Siemens Gamesa launches RecyclableBlade for onshore wind projects
- Wind energy deployment projected to surpass 1 TW globally by the end of 2023
- A massive off-grid solar, wind, and battery project will run new Lithium mine in Australia
- Wind and Solar outpace coal in electricity generation in the US during Q1 2023
- Siemens Gamesa faces major wind turbine issues, poses a challenge for clean energy transition
The Revolution Wind project will significantly aid the two states in achieving their clean energy targets. For context, Rhode Island aims to hit 100% renewable energy consumption by 2033. Meanwhile, Connecticut seeks to have renewables account for 100% of its electricity by 2040.
