The U.S.’ First Offshore Wind Farm Is Officially Producing Power
Posted by Betsy Lillian on December 12, 2016
Offshore wind power is finally a reality in the U.S.: Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm is now delivering power to the grid.
The developer has announced that the 30 MW project, having completed its commissioning and testing phases, is now in commercial operations approximately three miles off the coast of Block Island, R.I. The project is expected to generate approximately 90% of Block Island’s electricity demand.
The energy produced from the project is linked to the New England grid by National Grid’s new sea2shore submarine transmission cable system. Technicians from GE Renewable Energy, which supplied the project’s five Haliade turbines, put the wind farm through its paces during the four-month testing period. The project’s crew transfer vessel, the Rhode Island-built Atlantic Pioneer, transported technicians to the wind farm around the clock, says Deepwater Wind.
“Rhode Island is proud to be home to the nation’s first offshore wind farm, and I’m proud to be the only governor in America who can say we have steel in the water and blades spinning over the ocean,” says Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, D-R.I.
“It’s official: America’s first offshore wind farm is powering homes and businesses with clean, reliable energy,” adds U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. “This is a historic milestone for reducing our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s happening here in the Ocean State.”
Deepwater Wind’s supplier and construction partners included GE Renewable Energy, Gulf Island Fabrication, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, LM Windpower and LS Cable, Montco Offshore, and Weeks Marine.
“Our success here is a testament to the hard work of hundreds of local workers who helped build this historic project and to the Block Islanders and the thousands more around the U.S. who’ve supported us every step of the way of this amazing journey,” says Deepwater Wind’s CEO, Jeffrey Grybowski.
Deepwater says the two-year installation of the project was completed on time and on budget. In addition, more than 300 local workers helped develop, build and commission the wind farm.
The developer says it used four separate Rhode Island port facilities – ProvPort, Quonset Point, Galilee and Block Island – to complete the project’s staging, construction and commissioning over the last two years.
“We’ve made history here in the Ocean State, but our work is far from over,” Grybowski adds. “We’re more confident than ever that this is just the start of a new U.S. renewable energy industry that will put thousands of Americans to work and power communities up and down the East Coast for decades to come.”
Likewise, Michael F. Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, says he’s confident that the Block Island Wind Farm is “just the first of many offshore wind projects that will put Americans to work up and down the East Coast for decades to come.”
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and co-sponsor of the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act, notes that the “five massive turbines spinning above the ocean are technological marvels and a tribute to the outstanding work of our laborers, trade unions, engineers and clean energy technicians.”
The project’s local contractors included AECOM, Aero Mechanical Inc., AIS Observers, Aladdin Electric, Badd Brothers, Bay Crane New England, Blount Boats, Challenge Electronics, Communication Systems Inc., DiPrete Engineering, Duffy & Shanley, E.W. Audet, Eagle Elevator, ESS Group, Essex Newbury, Fuss & O’Neill, GeoEnvironmental, GZA, Hart Engineering, Hinckley Allen, Inspire Environmental, Keough & Sweeney, Mayforth Group, Meridan Ocean Services, Mott MacDonald, National Grid, Rhode Island Fast Ferry’s Atlantic Wind Transfers, Specialty Diving Services, VHB, Waterson Terminal Services, and WF Shea, among others.
Deepwater Wind notes that it is actively planning offshore wind projects to serve multiple East Coast markets located 15 or more miles offshore, including Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Most recently, the developer announced plans for the Skipjack Wind Farm, a 120 MW offshore project that would be situated off the coast of Maryland.
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