Rhode Island's Approval Of A Second Offshore Wind Farm Reflects A Growing East Coast Trend. Here's

Rhode Island's Approval Of A Second Offshore Wind Farm Reflects A Growing East Coast Trend. Here's Why Some Are Concerned


Rhode Island led the way in 2016 by building the country’s first offshore wind farm. It was a pilot project, five turbines off the coast of Block Island. Then, just last month, Massachusetts approved a contract to build what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

And now, with approval from the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, Danish-based Ørsted and Eversource are poised to build up to 50-turbines roughly halfway between the Vineyard and Montauk, New York. The news marks another milestone for Rhode Island’s growing wind industry. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has been one of its biggest boosters.

“That 50 turbine project,” Raimondo says, “will generate enough electricity to power about half of the homes in Rhode Island.”

Rhode Island is not alone. Over the last several years, there’s been a stampede of wind farm proposals, spurred by federal tax incentives, all along the New England coast and as far south as the Carolinas

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