Deepwater Wind Looks to Massachusetts

Deepwater Wind, the Rhode Island company that plans a 15-turbine offshore wind farm approximately 30 miles from Montauk, has announced plans for an offshore wind farm paired with an energy storage system that would provide electricity to Massachusetts. The company says it would be the world’s largest such installation.

The proposed wind farm, called Revolution Wind, would be constructed on the same federal lease site on which the South Fork Wind Farm is to be situated. It is to comprise a 144-megawatt wind farm coupled with a battery storage system provided by Tesla. The proposal is in response to the state’s request for proposals for new sources of clean energy, according to Deepwater Wind, which also provided alternative bids for 288-megawatt and 96-megawatt versions of Revolution Wind.

“Revolution Wind is flexible and scalable,” Jeff Grybowski, Deepwater Wind’s chief executive officer, said in a statement issued on Monday. “That’s a serious advantage of offshore wind — we can build to the exact size utilities need. We can build a larger project if other New England states want to participate now, or we can start smaller to fit into the region’s near-term energy gaps. And our pricing at any size will be very competitive with the alternatives.”

If approved, local construction work on Revolution Wind could begin in 2022, with the project in operation the following year. Survey work is underway at Deepwater Wind’s lease area.

Deepwater Wind also announced that it will base construction and operations in New Bedford, Mass. Final turbine assembly and staging operations will be located at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. Revolution Wind’s long-term operations and maintenance center will also be in New Bedford.