B.I. offshore wind farm soon to be operational, waiting for final approvals from ISO New England

WORK IS NEARLY complete on the first U.S. wind firm off the shore of Block Island by Deepwater Wind LLC. / BLOOMBERG NEWS
WORK IS NEARLY complete on the first U.S. wind firm off the shore of Block Island by Deepwater Wind LLC. / BLOOMBERG NEWS

(Updated 2:46 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – Deepwater Wind LLC on Friday finished testing the nation’s first offshore wind farm and expects to bring it online in a matter of days.

The company for four months has been testing its five turbine, 30-megawatt project off the shore of Block Island. Deepwater says it started producing power on Sept. 12 and has since generated more than 1 gigawatt hour of energy.

“We’re truly proud of the wind farm’s performance to date and to have completed a successful test phase,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski in prepared remarks. “The wind farm’s performance has been exceptional, even in some of the harshest weather conditions offshore. In late November, for example, the wind farm produced energy in 53-mile-per-hour wind gusts.”

The road to completion hasn’t come without hurdles for Deepwater. Most recently, during some tests, General Electric Co., which manufactured the turbines, learned a drill bit had been left inside one of the turbine generators. The mishap resulted in one of the turbines not turning, although it’s not expected to delay the project from coming online, according to the company.

- Advertisement -

“GE will repair the turbine and expects to have it operational in the near term,” the company said in a statement. “This short delay for this turbine is not unusual. Over the course of the next 20 years, one or more turbines will be taken offline for maintenance and repairs from time to time while others are in operation.”

The news was first reported by EcoRI News.

Deepwater expects to receive final approvals from ISO New England, the region’s electric grid regulator, after which commercial operations can start.

“That process should be completed in the coming days,” according to Deepwater.

Once operational, the turbines will power most of Block Island’s electric demands and about 1 percent of Rhode Island’s. In the first year of operation, National Grid PLC, the state’s largest utility, will pay Deepwater 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour, which will increase 3.5 percent yearly for two decades. That’s three times National Grid’s current blended rate of 8.18 cents per kilowatt hour.

The project cost an estimated $300 million, which is an amount offshore wind advocates expect will fall as the nascent industry matures in the United States.

No posts to display

1 COMMENT

  1. It’s a shame this had to happen off the shore of Block Island. These windmills destroy the view from the island and will never result in a positive ROI. They should be removed.