Ørsted and Eversource Submit Proposal for New Offshore Wind Farm in Rhode Island

Ørsted and Eversource, the developers of the 704 MW Revolution Wind project offshore Connecticut and Rhode Island, have filed a proposal in Rhode Island’s offshore wind solicitation for Revolution Wind 2 which would have a generation capacity of 884 MW.

According to the developers, the new offshore wind farm represents more than USD 2 billion in direct economic benefits to Rhode Island, including the creation of hundreds of local jobs and “unprecedented investments” in port improvements and shipbuilding.

In connection with the 884 MW Revolution Wind 2, Ørsted and Eversource plan to invest USD 35 million to establish a Regional Offshore Wind Logistics and Operations Hub at Quonset Point, which is envisioned by Quonset Development Corporation.

The project would also create new, local union jobs to support the expanded construction of advanced foundation components at ProvPort, where the joint venture partners started building a manufacturing facility for offshore wind foundations in December 2021.

In shipbuilding, Revolution Wind 2 would enable the construction of two new crew transfer vessels (CTVs) in Rhode Island to serve Ørsted’s US portfolio, on top of the five currently being built by Blount Boats and Senesco Marine as part of the Revolution Wind investments.

“We’re also planning other shipbuilding investments in Rhode Island to support the industry”, the offshore wind developers stated in a press release issued on 13 March.

Furthermore, Ørsted says it will also open a new US Engineering Hub in Rhode Island which will serve as the company’s engineering centre of excellence in the US and will create some 75 new local engineering jobs.

The Revolution Wind 2 offshore wind project is also said to lead to tens of millions of dollars of direct investments to support Rhode Island’s supply chain and supplier diversity, workforce training, education and research, environmental justice and biodiversity.

“We’re answering Rhode Island’s call for more offshore wind energy with a proposal that builds upon the groundwork we’ve laid in the Ocean State with our significant investments in port infrastructure, workforce training and the local supply chain”, said Joe Nolan, Chairman, President and CEO of Eversource Energy.

“Our latest proposal harnesses the unmatched combination of our onshore, regional transmission expertise together with Ørsted’s considerable offshore capabilities. We applaud state leaders for their commitment to combatting climate change and delivering a clean-energy future for Rhode Islanders”.

The offshore wind solicitation in Rhode Island opened in October 2022 with the state’s primary utility company, Rhode Island Energy, issuing a request for proposal (RFP) for an additional 600 MW to 1,000 MW of offshore wind capacity.

Developers were able to submit their proposals until 1 February 2023.

Rhode Island already has 30 MW of offshore wind capacity installed in its waters as the state is home of the first US offshore wind farm, the Block Island Wind Farm.

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