Providence, Rhode Island: Revolution Wind Is Fully Operational Off the Rhode Island Coast, Powering 350,000 Homes

Revolution Wind, the offshore wind farm built in the Atlantic off Rhode Island, is fully operational and selling power to utilities in Rhode Island and Connecticut, its developer Orsted announced on Thursday.

The 704-megawatt project has 65 turbines standing about 15 miles south of Little Compton, Rhode Island. Orsted built it with Skyborn Renewables and announced the milestone on November 5 ahead of its third quarter earnings call, saying the farm is strengthening the region's supply of affordable, reliable energy. A company spokesperson said the commercial operation date came sometime in late October, after testing and ramp up work that followed the installation of the final turbine in mid-September.

"This a major milestone and I'm very pleased with the resilience and efforts that the team has demonstrated to achieve this," Orsted chief executive Rasmus Errboe said during the call, as reported by the Providence Journal.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee called the completion a major win. "Helping bring this project to completion has been a highlight of my administration, from the good-paying jobs it has created for hardworking union workers to our successful work to protect it from interference by the Trump Administration," he said in a statement.

Power contracts in two states

With full commercial operation, the project's long term power contracts are now active. Rhode Island Energy is buying 400 megawatts of the farm's output at a fixed price of 9.8 cents per kilowatt hour over 20 years, a rate below the blended retail price Rhode Island customers have paid in recent years. The remaining 304 megawatts go to Connecticut utilities Eversource and United Illuminating. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and the state's energy department applauded the start of commercial operation on Thursday.

The farm can produce enough electricity for about 350,000 homes. State regulators in Rhode Island were told the project would save Rhode Island customers about $90 million over its life, and Connecticut energy officials have estimated it could save customers across the New England grid about $500 million a year starting in 2028 by holding down wholesale power prices.

Support work for the farm runs through Rhode Island and Connecticut ports, including ProvPort in Providence, Quonset Point, and the State Pier in New London.

A project Washington tried to stop

Revolution Wind became a central test of the federal government's push against offshore wind. In August 2025, the Interior Department ordered crews to stop work, citing unspecified national security concerns, when construction was already about 80 percent complete. A federal judge overturned that order and called it the height of arbitrary and capricious. The department issued a second stop work order months later, and a federal judge again ruled against the agency and let construction resume.

The farm delivered its first power to the New England grid earlier this year. ISO New England, the regional grid operator, welcomed the full start. "The commercial operation of Revolution Wind adds a needed new source of electricity supply to New England's power system," spokeswoman Mary Cate Colapietro said, noting offshore wind is often strongest in winter.

Orsted also reported progress on Sunrise Wind, a larger 924-megawatt project near the Revolution site that will supply New York. That project is 60 percent complete, with all foundations installed and 31 of its 84 turbines in place, and it remains on track for full commissioning in the second half of 2027.