Rhode Island

Rhode Island Map

State Profile

Rhode Island’s offshore wind potential is over 25.6 GW, according to data from NREL. In early November, 2016, Deepwater WInd’s 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm began operations in anticipation of running at full capacity by late November. This is the nation’s first offshore wind farm. It is comprised of five turbines mounted to the Gulf Coast-manufactured foundations. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have equal terms on a 400 square-mile Wind Energy Area (WEA). Deepwater Wind holds the commercial lease to develop the WEA and has proposed a project of up to 1200 MW—enough to power 350,000 homes. In 2010, the state received American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds of $22.3 million to redevelop the Quonset Business Park to accommodate the offshore wind industry.

Read more

State Resources

Title Source/Sponsor Datesort descending
Response to Comments and Explanation of Changes to Sale Notice Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Jul 25 2013
Lease Auction Results Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Jul 31 2013
Study on Suitable Harbors for Offshore Wind Traffic Clarendon Hill Consulting Oct 1 2013
Fact Sheet on Turbines for Block Island Wind Farm Alstom Jan 1 2014
Review of Proposed Purchase of Assets of Deepwater Wind Block Island Transmission System, LLC La Capra Associates Mar 28 2014
Modification to Block Island Transmission System Deepwater Wind May 31 2014
Complaint in Superior Court against the Block Island Wind Farm Rhode Island Superior Court Jul 11 2014
Rhode Island H.B.7413 Rhode Island General Assembly Jan 29 2016
Rhode Island Stakeholder Concerns Regarding the New York Wind Energy Area Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Jul 22 2016
Marine Wildlife Survey Results from BOEM and MassCEC Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Mass Clean Energy Center Oct 25 2016
BOEM Contracts for Tourism Study on Block Island Wind Farm BOEM Feb 2 2017
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo Letter to BOEM Regarding the NY Wind Energy Area State of Rhode Island Mar 2 2017
Will Communities "open-up" to Offshore Wind? Energy Research & Social Science Jun 29 2017
North Atlantic Right Whale Occurrence in Offshore WEAs near MA and RI Endangered Species Research Jul 28 2017
Tilting At Windmills: The Emerging U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Industry Kleinman Center for Energy Policy: University of Pennsylvania Oct 2 2017
Northeast Offshore Wind Regional Market Characterization Report NYSERDA, MassCEC, MADOER, RI Office of Energy Resources, Clean Energy States Alliance Nov 2 2017
U.S. Job Creation in Offshore Wind Report NYSERDA, MassCEC, MADOER, RI Office of Energy Resources, Clean Energy States Alliance Nov 2 2017
U.S. Jones Act Compliant Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Vessel Study NYSERDA, MassCEC, MADOER, RI Office of Energy Resources, Clean Energy States Alliance Nov 2 2017
2018 Massachusetts Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment Massachusetts Clean Energy Center May 1 2018
U.S. OFFSHORE WIND POWER: AN INDUSTRY IN MOTION Kleinman Center for Energy Policy: University of Pennsylvania Aug 1 2018
U.S. Offshore Wind Finance and Insurance Forum The Business Network for Offshore Wind Feb 27 2019
Commercial Wind Leasing Offshore Rhode Island And Massachusetts BOEM Jan 16 2020
Power Sector, Supply Chain, Jobs, and Emissions Implications of 30 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Power by 2030 NREL Aug 1 2021
Threading a Moving needle: The Spatial Dimensions Characterizing US Offshore Wind Policy Drivers Elsevier Aug 19 2021
Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision (ROD) for the South Fork Wind, LLC Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Rhode Island Federal Register Nov 30 2021

Pages