Rhode Island Offshore Wind Farm promises local "sweeteners" if their proposal wins
Ørsted and Eversource
have announced submission of a joint proposal in response to the state’s
offshore wind solicitation. The proposed 884-megawatt Revolution Wind
2 (delivering electricity to 500,000 Rhode Island homes) according
to the JV represents more than $2 billion in direct economic benefits to
Rhode Island’s "blue" and "green" economies. Further,
they are stating that this project will involve the creation of hundreds
of local jobs and unprecedented investments in port improvements and shipbuilding.
If selected, Revolution
Wind 2 besides creating hundreds of jobs it will also deliver crucial port
investments that expand Rhode Island’s role in the offshore wind industry,
"advance environmental justice" and create inclusive training
and career opportunities for historically marginalised Rhode Islanders.
In
detail Revolution Wind 2 investments in Rhode Island, include:
Ports:
Significant
investments in the state’s existing ports, including $35 million to realize
Quonset Development Corporation’s vision for a Regional Offshore Wind
Logistics and Operations Hub at Quonset Point.
New,
local union jobs to support the expanded construction of advanced foundation
components at ProvPort.
Shipbuilding:
Building
on the state’s historic shipbuilding capabilities, Revolution Wind 2 will
enable the construction of two new crew transfer vessels in Rhode Island
to serve Ørsted’s U.S. portfolio, on top of the five already being built
by Blount Boats and Senesco Marine as part of our Revolution Wind investments.
We’re also planning other shipbuilding investments in Rhode Island to
support the industry.
Ørsted
Offshore Engineering Hub Center of Excellence:
Ørsted
will open a new U.S. Engineering Hub in Rhode Island, creating roughly
75 new local engineering jobs in a state-of-the-art facility that will
serve as an Ørsted engineering center of excellence in the U.S.
They have go on to
state that together with Ørsted and Eversource’s Revolution Wind – the
state’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm – Revolution Wind 2 would
help to advance the state’s 100-percent clean energy by 2033 climate goal.
Further they state that the carbon emission reductions achieved by Revolution
Wind 2 would be the equivalent of taking more than 265,000 cars off New
England roads.
“From the ‘starting
five’ at America’s first offshore wind farm to the major work already
underway for Revolution Wind, we’re proud to be Rhode Island’s trusted
offshore wind partner,” said David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at
Ørsted. “We’re ready to deliver even more good-paying jobs and affordable
clean energy to the Ocean State, and we’re confident that our new proposal
will advance Rhode Island’s climate goals while delivering on the promise
of a sustainable economic engine rooted in thriving port facilities and
powered by local union labour.”
“We’re answering
Rhode Island’s call for more offshore wind energy with a proposal that
builds upon the groundwork we’ve laid in the Ocean State with our significant
investments in port infrastructure, workforce training and the local supply
chain,” said Joe Nolan, Chairman, President and CEO of Eversource Energy.
“Our latest proposal harnesses the unmatched combination of our onshore,
regional transmission expertise together with Ørsted’s considerable offshore
capabilities. We applaud state leaders for their commitment to combatting
climate change and delivering a clean-energy future for Rhode Islanders.”
Revolution Wind
2 will also make tens of millions of dollars of direct investments
to support Rhode Island’s supply chain and supplier diversity, workforce
training, education and research, environmental justice and biodiversity,
putting Rhode Islanders front and center.
Revolution Wind
Ørsted and Eversource
are currently developing the 704MW Revolution Wind project and are
expected to start construction on the project later this year. Revolution
Wind will deliver clean, affordable offshore wind power to nearly 200,000
Rhode Island homes. The project is expected to be operational in 2025.
Rhode Island has been
developing a homegrown offshore wind supply chain, including an industry
hub of nearly 30 companies at Providence CIC, and the state has begun training
the future offshore wind workforce. In July 2022, Governor McKee announced
Rhode Island’s second competitive offshore wind solicitation. This second
solicitation marks additional momentum toward achieving Rhode Island’s
100-percent renewable by 2033 goal and its Act on Climate Act emissions
reduction target.
The joint venture between
Ørsted, a leading offshore wind energy partner, and Eversource, New England’s
largest energy provider, was established in 2016. Through its National
Offshore Wind Agreement, the developers committed to its offshore construction
would be completed by an American union workforce, emphasising the developers’
commitment to good-paying jobs, workforce training and safety.
As part of Revolution
Wind, Ørsted and Eversource have already
Established a regional
offshore wind foundation component manufacturing facility at ProvPort,
where local union workers are today building advanced foundation components
for the developers’ South Fork Wind project
Partnered with two
local shipyards – Blount Boats, in Warren, and Senesco Marine, in Quonset
Point – to build five new crew-transfer vessels (CTV's) to support their
Northeast projects. Construction is underway.
Invested $1 million
to establish a training partnership with the Community College of Rhode
Island, the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Rhode Island
Commerce, the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and
Building Futures. The partnership will establish the state’s first Global
Wind Organization (GWO) training certificate program, at CCRI.
Signed a U.S. offshore
wind helicopter agreement for new crew helicopters, including a $1.8 million
investment in Quonset State Airport where the helicopters will be based
Awarded a contract
to Boskalis for the foundation and offshore substations transportation
and installation work for Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind , as well
as scour protection installation contracts for its Revolution Wind project.
Collaborated with marine
services provider Sea Services North America, and its partner fishermen
in Rhode Island, to support safe navigation in and around the companies’
Northeast offshore wind farms