PROVIDENCE – Four developers are seeking to add to Rhode Island’s offshore wind plans.
Rhode Island Energy announced Wednesday that Avangrid Renewables LLC, Orsted A/S, SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC and Vineyard Offshore responded to the utility's request for proposals to secure an additional 1,200 megawatts of offshore wind for the state.
“Our company is committed to helping Rhode Island meet its nation-leading clean energy goals and will carefully review these proposals,” said Greg Cornett, president of Rhode Island Energy. “Our objective is to advance the clean energy transition while keeping energy affordable and reliable for our customers. This is the lens through which we will evaluate these proposals.”
The request for proposals, made last October, followed Rhode Island's decision to join New England’s first multistate offshore wind memorandum of understanding with Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The deadline for proposals for the multistate effort were due Wednesday.
The evaluation of the proposals is expected to take about three months, at which time Rhode Island Energy will determine whether to move forward with contract negotiations. Any proposals agreed to by Rhode Island Energy will be subject to review and approval by the R.I. Public Utilities Commission.
“We look forward to the next phase of the process in alignment with Massachusetts and Connecticut. As we move forward, our evaluation will consider how each proposal meets the requirements of both the RFP and Rhode Island state law while balancing costs for our customers,” Cornett noted.
Orsted said its proposal is for a new offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island called Starboard Wind, a 1,184-megawatt farm that would power 600,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Starboard Wind, according to Orsted spokesperson Meaghan Wims, would be located in federal waters in Orsted’s federal Lease 500 area off Block Island, adjacent to Orsted’s South Fork, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects. She added that the project would be fully operational in the early 2030s.
The potential cost of the project was not disclosed.
The Starboard Wind project is expected to create at least 3,800 full-time equivalent positions, nearly all of which would be based in Rhode Island, according to Orsted. This would include more than 640 new direct jobs in the state, including 100 new local union construction jobs at ProvPort, where Orsted has established an industry hub, to support the expanded construction of advanced foundation components as Rhode Island strengthens its position in the U.S. offshore wind supply chain.
The Starboard Wind project would be Orsted’s second project to power Rhode Island. Revolution Wind, a joint effort with Eversource Energy LLC, is being constructed 15 miles east of Block Island.
When completed, Revolution Wind will deliver 400 megawatts of wind power to customers in Rhode Island and 304 megawatts to customers in Connecticut, powering more than 350,000 homes in total. Construction is projected to “ramp up” this year, with the wind farm expected to be operational in 2025.
Eversource has decided to sell its interest in the Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind projects as part of an effort to “derisk” the company. Infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners is buying the stake.
Orsted retains a 50% stake in both projects. Eversource is expected to enter into a separate construction management agreement as a contractor to Revolution Wind to complete the onshore work underway and will maintain its previously announced tax equity investment in South Fork Wind.
Vineyard Offshore has proposed delivering 1,200 megawatts to power more than 650,000 homes in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, beginning in 2031. The proposed offshore wind farm would be located 29 miles south of Nantucket which is held by funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, for which Vineyard Offshore serves as U.S. development partner.
Its foundation components would be built in Providence, with a grid connection in Montville, Conn. and operations and maintenance performed in New Bedford.
SouthCoast Wind is proposing a 2,400-megawatt wind farm 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket. The project will occupy the full 199-square-mile lease area, which was awarded through a competitive auction by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Avangrid has proposed two projects to the multi-state solicitation that will create up to 9,200 full-time equivalent jobs and bring $8 billion in direct investment to the region.
The first is New England Wind 1. That facility will provide 791 megawatts and will be located 30 miles south of Barnstable, Mass., and with the grid connection at Craigville Beach parking lot. The project will border Vineyard Wind 1 to the south. New England Wind 1 is eyed to power approximately 400,000 homes and reduce emissions equivalent to taking 300,000 gasoline-based cars off the road annually.
The second proposal is a combination of New England 1 and another wind farm that will offer the region 1,870 megawatts of power. This project would provide enough power for nearly 1 million homes.
Eversource has decided to sell its interest in the Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind projects as part of an effort to "derisk" the company. Infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners is buying the stake.
Orsted retains a 50% stake in both projects. Eversource is expected to enter into a separate construction management agreement as a contractor to Revolution Wind to complete the onshore work underway and will maintain its previously announced tax equity investment in South Fork Wind.
(Updated story includes information about all four wind farm proposals received by Rhode Island Energy throughout as well as comments from the utility company.)
