Governor Dan McKee joined local leaders and joint venture partners Ørsted and Eversource today at Quonset to celebrate progress on the first utility-scale offshore wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut. Revolution Wind’s underground transmission cable will come ashore at the Business Park. From there, it will deliver energy from the wind farm to the electric grid following a one-mile underground route located entirely within the park.
“Significant investments by Gov. McKee and the General Assembly have been crucial to establishing Quonset as an emerging hub for the offshore wind industry in the North Atlantic,” said Steven J. King, P.E., managing director of the Quonset Development Corporation.
“The progress we’re seeing on the construction of Rhode Island’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm is an encouraging sign of Rhode Island’s momentum in this crucial economic sector,” said Governor Dan McKee.
Commerce Secretary and QDC Board chair Liz Tanner added, “The development of our state’s inaugural large-scale offshore wind project not only underscores our commitment to sustainable growth but also solidifies Rhode Island’s commitment to maintaining its leadership position in the clean energy sector.”
King welcomed guests to event, invoking the “Can Do” motto of the Navy’s “Fighting Seabees”, established at Quonset in the early days of World War II.
“With the support of Governor McKee and the General Assembly, we’ve put that ‘Can Do’ spirit to work by developing and implementing the Port Master Plan that is preparing Quonset’s Port of Davisville to serve as a key hub for offshore wind in the coming decades,” he said.
King praised the flexibility of Quonset tenants who worked with QDC to make way for the cable landing and substation at the Business Park. He also noted that the start of offshore wind construction has already led to a significant increase in port activity.
“The start of offshore wind construction has already led to an increase in port activity,” he added. “39 different offshore wind construction vessels have called at the Port in recent months, in addition to the more than 175 ships that visit Davisville on an annual basis.”
Revolution Wind will create thousands of direct, indirect, and induced jobs, as well as permanent operations and maintenance jobs across both Rhode Island and Connecticut. Once complete, the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind will deliver enough electricity to power more than 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut
Home to more than 13,000 jobs at 229 companies, including 1 in 5 manufacturing jobs in Rhode Island, Quonset is the region’s leading engine of job growth and economic development. Quonset’s Port of Davisville, Rhode Island’s only public port, is one of the Top 10 auto importers in North America.
“Thanks to projects like Revolution Wind, the offshore wind industry has provided a job-creating, economic engine for Rhode Island for the better part of the last decade,” said Michael Sabitoni, President, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council. “Our local workforce is well-trained and experienced in this highly specialized, complex sector, and we are ready to continue to play our part in building the state’s and the region’s clean energy future.”
Meanwhile, Revolution Wind continues to make progress on the project’s advanced foundation components at Ørsted and Eversource’s regional assembly hall at ProvPort.
