Ørsted declares Revolution Wind offshore array fully operational

Danish energy developer Ørsted announced on Thursday that the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island reached full commercial operation in October. During an investor call, company officials confirmed that the 704-megawatt array is now generating electricity at its full capacity, though they did not specify exact output figures. The facility is located in the waters off New England and serves the regional energy grid.

Construction on the $6 billion project began in 2023. The turbines started feeding power into the New England grid earlier this year. The 65th and final turbine was installed in September. On-shore assembly operations were conducted at the State Pier in New London. The project faced two interruptions due to stop-work orders issued by the administration of President Donald Trump, which has pursued policies to reduce the growth of the U.S. offshore wind sector.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Interior argued that Revolution Wind and other Atlantic Coast projects could interfere with military radar systems. A federal judge rejected those arguments, allowing construction to proceed. The legal dispute remains active, as Interior Department attorneys asked Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. for permission to rescind prior approvals for the construction plan in October. That motion is currently pending. Judge Lamberth has previously ruled in favor of developers in two prior lawsuits against the administration.

The project is funded through power-purchase agreements with utility customers in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Eversource and United Illuminating customers pay a set rate of $99 per megawatt-hour, a cost recovered through public benefits charges. At full capacity, the array produces enough electricity to power approximately 350,000 homes. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection estimates that the project will save customers roughly $500 million annually starting in 2028, largely because it is more cost-competitive than other electricity sources.

William Hinkle, an Eversource spokesman, described the milestone in a statement as a provision of much-needed new energy generation during a period of rising demand. Ørsted is continuing development of a separate project, Sunrise Wind, from the same New London pier. The company’s third quarter report indicates that the Sunrise Wind project is approximately 60 percent complete.