US offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind has unveiled plans for a "utility-scale" offshore wind and energy storage project offshore Massachusetts.
Revolution Wind would be a 144 MW wind farm paired with a 40 MW hour battery storage system provided by Tesla. Deepwater Wind has also proposed alternative bids for a larger 288 MW version of Revolution Wind and a smaller 96 MW version.
“Revolution Wind will be the largest combined offshore wind and energy storage project in the world,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski. “People may be surprised by just how affordable and reliable this clean energy combo will be. Offshore wind is mainstream and it is coming to the US in a big way.”
The Revolution Wind proposal was made in response to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ request for proposals for new sources of clean energy in Section 83D of the Act to Promote Energy Diversity, the firm says. Using energy storage will help meet power needs during peak times in the grid.
Deepwater Wind says the 144 MW Revolution Wind project could be built in a single construction season, and developed more cost-effectively, and with considerably less risk, than a larger project.
Deepwater Wind will build Revolution Wind in the company’s federal lease site off the coast of Massachusetts, 30mi from the mainland and about 12mi south of Martha’s Vineyard.
For the project, final turbine assembly and staging operations will be based at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. In addition, Revolution Wind’s long-term operations and maintenance center will be in the city.
The wind farm will be adjacent to Deepwater Wind’s South Fork Wind Farm, a 90 MW project serving Long Island. Fully-built, the lease site has the potential to host 2 GW of offshore wind energy.
If approved, construction work would begin in 2022, with the project in operation in 2023. Survey work is already underway at Deepwater Wind’s lease area.
Deepwater Wind also intends to submit an offshore wind proposal under Massachusetts’ separate 83C offshore wind RFP; those bids are due in December 2018.
Deepwater Wind's 30MW Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island began commercial operations in December 2016. The company is also in the early stages of development of its South Fork Wind Farm – a 90 MW project scheduled to begin serving Long Island in 2022 – as well as the Skipjack Wind Farm – a 120 MW project on schedule to begin serving Maryland in late 2022.
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