The Revolution wind farm is a 704MW offshore wind project being developed approximately 24km from the coast of Rhode Island, US.
The project received the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) record of decision (RoD) in August 2023. Orsted and Eversource took the final investment decision on the project in October 2023.
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The project’s construction and operations plan (COP) was approved by the BOEM in November 2023. Construction on the onshore infrastructure commenced during the same year.
The project was originally developed as a 50/50 joint venture between Orsted and Eversource with an estimated investment of $1.5bn. In February 2024, Eversource announced its plans to divest its 50% stake in the wind farm to Global Infrastructure Partners.
Offshore construction commenced in 2024 and the project’s first wind turbine was installed in May 2024.
Expected to be operational by 2025, the wind project will generate enough electrical power to suffice the energy requirement of approximately 270,000 average US households. It will also offset around six million tonnes per annum of greenhouse gas emissions.
Revolution wind project background
In 2016, Deepwater Wind commissioned the Block Island wind farm, which is the first commercial offshore project in the US.
Deepwater Wind was originally allotted the Revolution wind project in 2018. The company started preliminary work on the projects in August 2018. However, Orsted acquired Deepwater Wind and announced its transition from a black to a green energy company in November 2018.
In February 2019, Orsted disinvested 50% of its stake in the Revolution wind farm to Eversource. The $225m stake sale also included South Fork and two undeveloped lease areas.
Revolution wind farm details
The Revolution offshore wind farm is located approximately 15 miles (24km) south of the Rhode Island coast, 32 miles (51.5km) south-east of the Connecticut coast and 12 miles (19,3km) south-west of Martha’s Vineyard.
The wind farm will feature 88 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines fitted with a direct-drive gearbox.
Each SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbine has a nominal power rating of 8MW and three SGRE B81 rotor blades each extending 81.4m long.
The wind turbines belong to the IEC class S (1B) and are designed to operate even under extreme weather conditions such as tropical storms. The operating wind speeds of the turbine range from 3m/s to 25m/s.
The turbine blades are manufactured using IntegralBlade technology, which produces blades with high quality and strength.
The rotor has a diameter of 167m and a swept area of 21,900m². The turbine will operate in pitch-regulated, variable speed mode to produce an electrical current of 690V at a 50Hz frequency.
Power transmission from Revolution wind farm
Power generated by the Revolution wind farm will be transferred through a newly proposed 1.6GW high-voltage submarine transmission system.
The system will connect the Brayton Point substation in Somerset, Massachusetts, with two offshore substations at the Rhode Island and Connecticut project sites.
Off-take agreements
In December 2018, Orsted signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with energy providers Eversource and United Illuminating, both based in Connecticut, for the sale of 200MW power generated by the Revolution wind farm.
In the same month, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) permitted the project developers to negotiate another PPA with the state’s power distribution companies for an additional 100MW from the project.
In May 2019, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission approved the 20-year PPA for the supply of 400MW of clean electricity from the Revolution project.
Contractors involved
Hellenic Cables, a subsea cable solutions provider for global offshore wind farms, was awarded a contract for supplying 260km of 66kV XLPE-insulated subsea inter-array cables and associated equipment for the South Fork and Revolution wind farms in February 2023.
Correll Group, a multi-technical services provider, was subcontracted by Hellenic Cables to provide termination and testing services for the inter-array cables.
WorleyParsons, a professional services company, was selected to carry out the design and engineering of two offshore topside substations for the project in April 2019.
Siemens Gamesa, a renewable energy equipment and services provider, was awarded the contract for the supply, delivery, and installation of the wind turbines in July 2019. The contract also includes the provision of maintenance services for the Revolution wind farm.
