Photo: Ionna22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Three miles off Block Island’s southeast shore stand five tall turbines. When the Block Island Wind Farm went into service in December 2016, it was the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States.
Providence-based Deepwater Wind built the 30-megawatt project. The Danish company Ørsted bought Deepwater in 2018 and now owns it.
Off diesel
Before the wind farm, Block Island made its own electricity with diesel generators, and island power rates were among the highest in the country. Fuel was brought over by barge.
As part of the project, a cable was laid from the island to the mainland, connecting Block Island to the regional grid. The island shut down its diesel plant. Power from the turbines goes to the mainland, and the island draws from the grid.
A test case
The project was small, but it showed that turbines could be built and run in American waters. Lessons from it fed into much larger projects off southern New England, such as Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind.
The turbines are a regular sight for ferry passengers and fishing boats. Charter captains have reported that fish gather around the foundations, and some run trips out to the site.
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