Troubled offshore wind farm completes construction in US – first to do so since Trump’s return to power

Two offshore wind farms being built in waters off the coast of United States have recently marked huge milestones, with one completing construction and another sending first power to the grid.

Despite ongoing efforts by US president Donald Trump to stymie the offshore wind industry, Vineyard Wind and Revolution Wind both reached important milestones last week.

The wind farms were part of a group of five that the Trump administration had ordered to halt construction before federal judges overruled the administration and allowed construction work to resume.

Revolution Wind, a 50/50 joint venture between Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables and Danish clean energy giant Ørsted, announced on Friday that it had begun delivering power to the New England electricity grid.

The Revolution Wind offshore wind farm is under construction off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut in the United States will eventually have a nameplate capacity of 704 megawatts (MW) and is expected to supply electricity equivalent to the needs of more than 350,000 homes.

Mindful of the maddening whims and whimsy of Donald Trump, Ørsted was at pains to highlight Revolution Wind’s benefits in its announcement, including the “more than 1,000 local union workers” who built the project and the $US500 million that the wind farm will save New England ratepayers in wholesale energy costs.

“Revolution Wind is adding affordable, reliable American-made energy to New England’s grid, helping to meet growing energy demand and lower consumer costs,” said Amanda Dasch, chief development officer at Ørsted.

“Built by local, highly skilled union workers, Revolution Wind is a testament to states tapping their energy resources to strengthen regional energy security. We’re grateful to the leadership of Rhode Island and Connecticut, our labor partners, utility customers, and the many other stakeholders whose collaboration has made this milestone possible.”

It was also announced over the weekend that 806 MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm had officially completed construction, the first to do so during Donald Trump’s second term as president.

A spokesperson for the company, Craig Gilvarg, told the media on Saturday that offshore construction had been officially completed on Friday night with the installation of the final turbine blades.

Vineyard Wind was another of the five offshore wind farms targeted by the Trump administration, but which was granted permission to resume construction at the end of January.

Located off the coast of Massachusetts, Vineyard Wind will generate electricity equivalent to the needs of over 400,000 homes.

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