US Gives Revolution Wind Green Light to Start Offshore Construction

November 21, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Revolution Wind, the first utility-scale offshore wind farm serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, has secured the final approval needed from the US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to move the project toward the start of offshore construction.

Revolution Wind, being developed by Ørsted and Eversource, has received approval of the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP) from BOEM.

Revolution Wind’s onshore construction activities are already well underway, with offshore construction ramping up in 2024. The project is expected to be operational in 2025.

Once up and running, the 704 MW offshore wind farm will deliver 400 MW of power to Rhode Island and 304 MW to Connecticut, powering more than 350,000 homes across the two states.

“Our team is already working hard on the onshore transmission system for this critical clean energy project, which will produce enough renewable energy to power more than 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and for our customers in Connecticut,” said Joe Nolan, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy.

BOEM’s final approval of the COP follows the agency’s August 2023 issuance of its Record of Decision, which concluded a BOEM-led environmental review of the project.

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Revolution Wind, located approximately 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith in Rhode Island, will comprise 65 Siemens Gamesa 11 MW wind turbines installed on monopile foundations.

The project is said to create thousands of direct, indirect, and induced jobs, as well as permanent operations and maintenance jobs across both states. Approximately 100 local union workers are already involved in the project’s onshore transmission system construction, said Ørsted.

The company and its joint venture partner Eversource have already made several investments in relation to the Revolution Wind project worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, including the redevelopment of State Pier in New London and the ProvPort manufacturing facility for foundation components.

For the Ørsted and Eversource joint venture, the approval of the project’s COP plan marks another milestone in the US offshore wind market as the joint venture also recently installed the first turbine at its 132 MW South Fork Wind farm in New York.