Offshore Revolution Wind development is now fully operational
Revolution Wind reached full commercial operation off the coast of Rhode Island in October, officials with Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted said in a call with investors on Thursday.
Work began on the 704-megawatt project in 2023, and its turbines began producing power for the New England energy grid earlier this this year.
But construction on the $6 billion project was twice interrupted by stop-work orders from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has sought to dismantle the nation’s burgeoning offshore wind industry.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Interior said Revolution Wind and other projects under development along the Atlantic Coast had the potential to interfere with military radar — arguments that were rejected by a federal judge who allowed work on the projects to continue.
Revolution Wind’s 65th and final turbine was installed in September. On-shore assembly work took place at the State Pier in New London.
In a statement, the company said Revolution Wind is “generating up to its full capacity,” but did not provide further details about its output.
Revolution Wind is supported by power-purchase agreements with utility customers in Connecticut and Rhode Island. For Eversource and United Illuminating customers, that price is set at $99 per megawatt-hour, recovered through the public benefits charge.
When operating at full capacity, the project can produce enough electricity to power roughly 350,000 homes.
Officials at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have calculated that Revolution Wind will help save customers roughly $500 million annually starting in 2028, due primarily to the project’s competitiveness with other, more expensive forms of electricity.
“This is an important milestone which provides much needed new energy generation to customers at a time when demand is rising,” Eversource spokesman William Hinkle said in a statement.
The Trump administration has not let up on its efforts to scuttle Revolution Wind, even as the project neared total completion. In October, attorneys for the Interior Department sought permission from a federal judge to rescind prior approvals for the project’s construction plan.
That request remains pending before U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth in Washington D.C., who has twice sided with developers in lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Ørsted is continuing development of another offshore project, Sunrise Wind, from the State Pier in New London. That project is about 60% complete, according to the company’s third quarter report.
