Rhode Island picks Deepwater Wind for offshore project

Rhode Island announced today that it has chosen Deepwater Wind to develop an offshore wind energy farm for the state. The project is expected to generate 1.3 million megawatt hours per year of renewable energy, 15 percent of all electricity used in Rhode Island.

Deepwater Wind, backed by First Wind, D.E. Shaw & Co. and Ospraie Management, was established to develop utility-scale offshore wind projects in the northeast U.S.

The project is expected to cost in excess of $1 billion to construct, with all the cash to come from private investment sources.

"This is much more than an energy project," said Gov. Donald Carcieri. "This is about creating a new industry in Rhode Island; an industry that puts Rhode Island at the epicenter of the emerging alternative energy market."

The governor's office said Deepwater Wind has pledged to invest $1.5 billion in the construction of a regional manufacturing facility in Quonset, Rhode Island, creating up to 800 jobs in the region. The new facility will manufacture support structures for the turbines and its towers and will serve the entire northeast.

The exact location of the wind farm has yet to be determined and final approval of the project is contingent on multiple regulatory approvals from both the state and federal governments.

Rhode Island issued a request for proposals for the offshore project in April, with Deepwater Wind beating out six other development groups in the bidding.