The US offshore wind sector reached a major turning point late Friday as Vineyard Wind completed blade installation on its 62-turbine project south of Massachusetts, while Revolution Wind began sending electricity to customers in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The two projects give New England a combined 1,500 MW of offshore wind capacity, close to the region’s 1,700 MW of installed onshore wind capacity. Once fully operational, they are expected to supply enough electricity for 750,000 homes and now stand as the largest renewable energy projects in operation east of the Mississippi River.
Their progress follows years of delays, rising development costs and legal disputes. Vineyard Wind faced a long permitting process, then later dealt with a dockworkers’ strike and a turbine blade failure. Revolution Wind and Vineyard Wind were also targeted by Trump administration orders seeking to halt construction on national security grounds, but both projects resumed after court challenges. A Friday deadline passed without an appeal in the latest ruling affecting Revolution Wind.
The milestone is significant for New England, where natural gas still provides about half of regional electricity and winter supply pressure has remained a concern. Even so, the path for future offshore wind projects remains uncertain, with Massachusetts delaying contract decisions on other projects and Connecticut stopping new offshore wind contracting.
