Revolution Wind Project

The  Revolution Wind project is a 700MW offshore wind farm planned to be developed 24km off the coast of Rhode Island, US.

The project will comprise two wind farms of 400MW and 300MW capacities, respectively. The 400MW wind farm will deliver power to Rhode Island, while Connecticut will receive 300MW from the other wind farm.

The Revolution Wind offshore project is being developed by DWW Rev I, a 50:50 joint venture between Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy) and Eversource, an energy company based in New England, US.

The total project cost for Revolution Wind is estimated to be £1.2bn ($1.5bn).

Construction works for the project are expected to be started in 2020 with offshore installation works scheduled to begin in 2022, followed by commissioning in 2023.

Upon completion, the Revolution Wind project is expected to generate enough clean electricity for more than 400,000 households in Rhode Island and Connecticut, while offsetting more than ten million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.

The project is expected to generate more than 1,100 jobs during the construction phase.

Revolution wind farm location and background

The Revolution wind farm site is located in the federal waters offshore New England, US. The site is almost equi-distant from Montauk, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard in the state of Massachusetts.

Deepwater Wind was initially allotted the federal lease for the Revolution offshore wind development zone.

Deepwater Wind was the developer of the 30MW Block Island wind farm, the US’s first offshore wind farm, located 6km south-east of Rhode Island, that became fully operational in December 2016.

The State of Rhode Island awarded the 400MW Revolution Wind project to Deepwater Wind in May 2018, following a competitive bidding process, while the State of Connecticut selected additional 300MW from the project following a similar bidding process in December 2018.

Revolution Wind will be the second wind farm in Rhode Island after the Block Island wind farm, and the first wind farm for Connecticut.

The offshore oceanographic and geophysical survey works for the Revolution Wind project were started in the same year.

Ørsted, the largest energy company of Denmark, however, acquired Deepwater Wind in November 2018.

Further, in February 2019, Ørsted sold 50% stake in the 700MW Revolution Wind project, the 130MW South Fork project, as well as two undeveloped lease areas offshore New England for £174m ($225m) to Eversource in February 2019.

Revolution wind turbine details

The Revolution offshore wind farm complex will be installed with 88 SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa.

With 167m-diameter rotor and 81.4m-long blades, each turbine will have 21,900m² swept area and a rated capacity of 8MW.

The SG 8.0-167 DD turbines are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions including tropical storms. The cut-in and cut-out wind speeds of the turbines are 3m/s and 25m/s, respectively.

Power supply and transmission

The electricity generated by the Revolution Wind  project will be distributed between two US states, Rhode Island (400MW) and Connecticut (300MW).

The electricity will be evacuated to the mainland through National Grid’s proposed 1,600MW high-voltage submarine transmission system, which will connect two Revolution Wind offshore substations with the Brayton Point substation in Somerset, Massachusetts.

Power purchase agreements

Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved a long-term power purchase agreement with Eversource and United Illuminating for the off-take of 200MW from the Revolution Wind project in December 2018.

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) also permitted the project developers to negotiate another PPA with the state’s power distribution companies for an additional 100MW from the project, in the same month.

In May 2019, The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a 20-year PPA between the project developers and National Grid for 400MW from the Revolution Wind project in May 2019.

Contractors involved

WorleyParsons was contracted for the design and engineering of two offshore substations for the project in April 2019.

Siemens Gamesa was selected to supply, deliver, and install SG 8.0-167 DD turbines for the Revolution Wind project in July 2019. Siemens Gamesa will also provide maintenance services for the project.