Rhode Island

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.