Regulators will decide this summer whether to approve RI offshore wind farm

President Joe Biden's administration said July 17 that it released the final environmental impact statement for a proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island, setting up a decision on the project later this summer.

Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy are proposing to build the 880-MW Revolution Wind Offshore project, which will include up to 100 turbines capable of powering more than 300,000 homes. The project will be about 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, RI. The US Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will issue a decision approving, modifying or rejecting the offshore wind farm after a 30-day review period.

The project could be the fourth commercial-scale offshore wind farm approved by the Biden administration.

"BOEM used the feedback we received from Tribal Nations, industry, ocean users, communities, and stakeholders to help inform our decisions throughout the environmental review process and ensure that we are addressing potential impacts," BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein said in the announcement.

While the project has secured two offtake agreements — a 304-MW contract with Connecticut and a 400-MW contract with Rhode Island — its ownership status is in limbo. Eversource executives have said they are reviewing whether to sell the company's 50% ownership stake in the wind farm. Wells Fargo said in May that Eversource could receive $2.7 billion in gross proceeds from the sale.

The Business Network for Offshore Wind said in a July 17 statement that "this action by BOEM secures investments in component production at ProvPort of Providence, Rhode Island, cable manufacturing in South Carolina, and shipbuilding in Texas, solidifying the manufacturing base that will be key to the buildout of the US industry."

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