Ørsted Proposes New Offshore Wind Farm for RI and CT, One of Four Bidding

Ørsted Proposes New Offshore Wind Farm for RI and CT, One of Four Bidding

Ørsted announced Wednesday that it has submitted a proposal for "Starboard Wind" — an offshore wind project that covers both Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The company did not submit a proposal for Massachusetts.

It is one of four companies filing applications.

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According to the company, the project could power as many as 600,000 homes in the region with renewable energy.

Ørsted says its proposed 1,184-megawatt (MW) Starboard Wind project “would deliver clean and reliable offshore wind energy at stable and affordable pricing for Rhode Island homeowners and businesses for decades between the two states."

This is the replacement application for a project that Rhode Island Energy shot down in 2023.

 

RI Energy Announces Process

Rhode Island Energy (RIE) announced that it will evaluate offshore wind (OSW) proposals from four project developers in response to a request for proposals (RFP) for approximately 1,200 MW of clean and affordable energy – the largest procurement of its kind in state history. Besides Ørsted, proposals were filed by: Avangrid Renewables LLC, SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC, and Vineyard Offshore. The evaluation process is expected to take several months. 

RIE is owned by PPL -- the Pennsylvania-based energy conglomerate. Since it acquired National Grid RIE has increased rates nearly 50% each of the past two winters.

“Our company is committed to helping Rhode Island meet its nation-leading clean energy goals and will carefully review these proposals,” said Greg Cornett, president of RIE. “Our objective is to advance the clean energy transition while keeping energy affordable and reliable for our customers. This is the lens through which we will evaluate these proposals.”

RIE issued its request for proposals this past October as part of a coordinated solicitation with state agencies and utilities in neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut. Adding to the nation’s first offshore wind farm that sits in waters off Block Island and the Revolution Wind project now under development, this additional procurement could help meet more than 80% of the state’s estimated 2030 electricity demand with carbon-free energy.

“We look forward to the next phase of the process in alignment with Massachusetts and Connecticut. As we move forward, our evaluation will consider how each proposal meets the requirements of both the RFP and Rhode Island state law while balancing costs for our customers,” Cornett said -- he is the second market manager in Rhode Island for RIE in two years.

“This is an exciting day to be receiving project proposals from multiple offshore wind companies – including multi-state project proposals with Massachusetts and Connecticut, and individual project proposals specific to Rhode Island,” said acting State Energy Commissioner Chris Kearns. “We look forward to reviewing the proposals with Rhode Island Energy along with Massachusetts and Connecticut State Energy Offices over the next few months with the potential of advancing new offshore wind projects that balance climate change, environmental, ratepayer and economic development interests.”

Any power purchase agreements agreed to by RIE will be subject to review and approval by Rhode Island’s Public Utilities Commission.

 

 

Latest in Wind

This week, Reuters reported, "The Biden administration on Tuesday gave final approval to Ørsted for Sunrise Wind offshore wind facility, which is expected to provide power to more than 320,000 homes in New York. The announcement was the latest positive development for the project, which Denmark's Ørsted warned just months ago could fail without a new contract that would cover soaring costs for equipment and financing."

The offshore wind industry has been facing significant economic challenges. Some have called the economics "fundamentally broken."

The potential actual benefit to Rhode Island will not be known until the project is approved and the split between the two states is determined.

Starboard Wind would result in more than $1.1 billion of direct, private investment and expenditure, claims the company.

Ørsted and Eversource are currently constructing Revolution Wind, Rhode Island’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm. Together with Starboard Wind, Ørsted says its projects "would satisfy as much as three-quarters of Rhode Island’s electric demand, propelling the state toward its target of 100 percent clean energy by 2033."

Eversource, at the beginning of the year, announced it was selling its interest in the project due to financial issues associated with offshore wind projects.

“Rhode Island is the birthplace of offshore wind in America, and we’re proud to have built a thriving hub for this new U.S. energy industry with our partners in the Ocean State,” said David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted. “Starboard Wind represents the next chapter in Rhode Island’s offshore wind journey. The project will power the state toward its clean energy goals while driving job creation, community benefits and investments into the state’s ports and infrastructure. We look forward to continuing to build on our highly successful partnership with Rhode Island for many years to come.” 

The company claims the Starboard Wind project would create thousands of jobs; however, the breakdown is somewhat unclear.

It says more than 640 new direct jobs would be created in Rhode Island, including 100 new local union construction jobs at ProvPort, where Ørsted has established an industry hub to support the expanded construction of advanced foundation components as Rhode Island strengthens its position in the U.S. offshore wind supply chain.  

In addition to new construction roles, Starboard Wind will directly create jobs across component assembly, operations and maintenance, engineering and other roles, as well as supporting hundreds of other jobs indirectly in Rhode Island by boosting local economic activity. The project would also employ union workers in neighboring New England states, driving regional benefits and collaboration.  

According to Ørsted, “The project would fund a range of community investments and partnerships. This includes more than $40 million of direct investments in Rhode Island organizations to support the state’s workforce and supplier diversity, inclusive workforce training, innovation and the Blue Economy, higher education and research, environmental justice efforts, and biodiversity.” 

Ørsted says, "It is a longtime leader in Rhode Island’s Blue Economy and is proud to call Rhode Island home to both its co-U.S. headquarters and a regional operations and maintenance hub."