A centerpiece of the region’s blue economy, Ørsted and Eversource’s Revolution Wind is directly creating roughly 1,200 jobs across Rhode Island and Connecticut and accelerating the states’ clean energy sectors with significant investments in workforce development, union partnerships, shipbuilding, and port infrastructure.
Revolution Wind is the country’s first multi-state offshore wind project. Once in operation, it will generate 400 megawatts of clean, affordable offshore wind power for Rhode Island and 304 megawatts of the same for Connecticut, enough clean energy to power more than 350,000 homes across both states and bring each closer to reaching their ambitious climate targets.
“America’s offshore wind industry is scaling up, and the first steel in the water at Revolution Wind is a tremendous milestone for Rhode Island and Connecticut’s clean energy journey,” said David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted. “We’re building on our successful track record with the Block Island Wind Farm and South Fork Wind, and Revolution Wind can generate more than four times as much power as those two projects put together, demonstrating the enormous economic opportunity of offshore wind. Once again, we’re tapping the experience of our talented engineering and construction teams, and all our longtime local union and supply-chain partners to build this historic project for New England.”
“Revolution Wind is already putting local union workers to work on both the onshore transmission system in Quonset Business Park and the wind turbine marshaling at State Pier. The start of the offshore construction phase means even more well-paying jobs and investment in the region,” added Joe Nolan, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Eversource Energy. “We’re ready to deliver on our commitments to advance Connecticut and Rhode Island’s energy goals with this groundbreaking project.”
Three New England ports are playing central roles in the effort to build Revolution Wind:
- In New London, Connecticut, the first of Revolution Wind’s turbine components have started arriving at State Pier, the staging and marshaling port for the project, where they will be assembled by local union labor.
- In Providence, Rhode Island, crews are readying for loadout of advanced foundation components, which were built by local union labor at Ørsted and Eversource’s construction hub at ProvPort.
- Revolution Wind’s crew helicopters and Rhode Island-built crew transfer vessels are based out of that state’s Quonset Point.
During the offshore construction period, construction and transport barges, cable installation vessels, tugboats, supply and support vessels, and protected species observer monitor vessels will be active at the offshore site. Vessel operators, engineers, welders, scientists, and dozens of others are involved in this operation. Meanwhile, onshore construction continues in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on the project’s transmission system.
