Offshore

Revolution Wind installs first offshore turbine

Revolution Wind installs first offshore turbine
(Revolution Wind has successfully completed the installation of its first offshore wind turbine. Courtesy: Kate Ciembronowicz/Orsted)

“Every revolution begins with a single act of defiance,” nonviolent civil rights leader Mohandas Gandhi is famously quoted.

In this instance, Revolution starts with a single turbine- one of 65.

Revolution Wind has successfully installed the project’s first offshore wind turbine, a major milestone for Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first large-scale offshore wind farm, which is also the first multi-state offshore wind farm in the United States.

“This is a monumental moment for Revolution Wind, the Northeast region, and Rhode Island,” noted Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee. “The installation of the first turbine speaks to the strong private and public partnership driving the project forward. Rhode Island is excited to build upon this progress and lead in clean energy and the offshore wind economy for decades to come.”

“Revolution Wind is going to have a major impact in the Northeast when it comes to delivering clean energy,” added Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. “The completion of this first turbine represents a milestone as we work towards decarbonizing our electric grid while also creating new, good-paying jobs in this growing sector for Connecticut residents.”

A 50/50 partnership between Ørsted and Eversource, Revolution Wind lies roughly 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast and 32 miles southeast of Connecticut. It’s adjacent to Ørsted and Eversource’s recently completed South Fork Wind, America’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm. In July, Ørsted marked the groundbreaking for another neighboring project, Sunrise Wind, set to be New York’s largest offshore endeavor.

Revolution Wind will incorporate 65 Siemens Gamesa turbines, the same 11-megawatt model used at South Fork Wind. Once in operation, Revolution Wind will have the capacity to generate 400 megawatts (MW) of clean wind power for Rhode Island and 304 MW for Connecticut, enough to power more than 350,000 homes and bring both states closer to reaching their climate targets.

Offshore construction crews are making “steady progress” in installing the foundations for the turbines, per the companies, which say more than three-quarters of the foundations are now in place offshore. Onshore construction continues in North Kingstown, R.I., on the project’s transmission system.

Three New England ports are playing central roles in the effort to build Revolution Wind:

  •  State Pier in New London, Connecticut, is serving as the staging and marshaling port for the project, where the turbines are being assembled by local union labor. Ørsted and Eversource have invested more than $100 million in the State Pier redevelopment project.
  • In Providence, crews are handling loadout of the advanced foundation components, which were built by more than 125 local union workers at Ørsted and Eversource’s construction hub at ProvPort. Ørsted and Eversource invested $100 million in the work at their ProvPort hub, making it the largest offshore wind supply chain investment in Rhode Island’s history.
  • The ECO EDISON, the first-ever American-built, owned, and crewed offshore wind service operations vessel, is based out of ProvPort during Revolution Wind’s construction.
  • Revolution Wind’s crew helicopters and Rhode Island-built crew transfer vessels are based out of that state’s Quonset Point.

“Rhode Island has been the proud home of many firsts for the growing offshore wind industry, and we’re excited to celebrate another major clean energy milestone today,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “Revolution Wind will help protect the Ocean State by powering its clean energy future and will support more good union jobs in a growing industry.”

Did you know Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is delivering keynote remarks at the interconnection event GridTECH Connect Forum? Check out the rest of the keynote lineup here, and join us in Rhode Island October 28-30!

“Seeing the first turbine rise above the water at Revolution Wind is another unforgettable moment for this new American energy industry we’re building together,” said David Hardy, group EVP and CEO of the Americas at Ørsted. “Revolution Wind is bringing local union jobs and economic development to Rhode Island and Connecticut, and it will deliver clean offshore wind power to hundreds of thousands of homes in the region. We thank our state and federal partners, our hard-working construction, marine and safety teams, and our local labor, port, and supply chain partners, as we continue building this historic project.”

Ørsted plans to begin commercial operations at Revolution Wind in 2026 rather than 2025, as initially planned. Eversource is building a substation necessary to connect the project to the regional grid on the site of a decommissioned naval air station, and it’s taking longer than expected to get rid of buried waste and soil contamination. Offshore construction activities are still on schedule.