New Projects - Renewables

Connecticut Purchasing 200 MW of Offshore Wind

The 25-turbine project, known as Revolution Wind, is expected to begin construction in 2021 and is being built by Deepwater Wind.
Connecticut Purchasing 200 MW of Offshore Wind

Connecticut announced plans to buy 200 MW of power from an offshore wind farm in the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. It is the state’s first procurement of offshore wind power.

The 25-turbine project, known as Revolution Wind, is expected to begin construction in 2021 and is being built by Deepwater Wind, the same company that built Block Island Wind Farm, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, which began generating power in December 2016.

The new project is one of many offshore wind power projects scheduled to be built in U.S. waters. About 1,400 MW of U.S. offshore wind power projects have been announced in less than a month, said Nancy Sopko, director of Offshore Wind for the American Wind Energy Association. Sopko described the demand for offshore wind as a “golden opportunity for heavy manufacturing companies and shipbuilders to invest in American jobs, factories and infrastructure.”

The purchase is part of the state’s plan to procure a total of 250 MW in clean power projects. The plan also includes the purchase of 52 MW in fuel cell projects and a 1.6 MW Anaerobic digestion facility.

“Offshore wind, anaerobic digestion and fuel cells are the clean, resilient, and diverse energy sources that our state and nation need,” said Robert Klee, commissioner of the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The selected developers will now begin negotiating 20-year contracts, which must be approved by the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

In addition to Connecticut’s offshore wind purchase of 200 MW, Massachusetts and Rohde Island have agreed to procure 800 MW and 400 MW of offshore wind, respectively.