Is Offshore Wind Finally Ready To Serve U.S. Power Needs?

Deepwater Wind recently completed construction on the last of five massive, 6 MWe peak capacity wind turbines that make up the 30 MWe Block Island Wind Farm. By the end of 2016, the developer expects that the project will enter commercial operation and begin providing the first electricity from offshore wind turbines to the U.S. electricity grid. It is a development with far-reaching implications and several lessons available to be learned. This modest-sized installation has been in the works since 2008. Initially, the public utility commission (PUC) rejected the project’s negotiated power purchase agreement (PPA) on the basis of excessive… [more]