Revolution Wind: Offshore-Windpark im Nordosten wieder auf Kurs

The world is turning to renewables for power generation, at the same time as traditionally fossil-fuel-powered activities like transportation, heating, and heavy industries are electrifying. In the USA, a lot of the growth of renewable energy has been driven by photovoltaic, with wind power also growing, but at a much slower pace. So even if wind passes the 10% of total energy generated in the US, solar seems to be going to outmatch wind power soon.

Quelle: EIA

A major reason for the relative stagnation of wind power in the USA is that offshore wind, the form most likely to generate steady, constant power, has stalled due to permitting issues and has become politically charged.

Quelle: EIA

A good example of offshore wind power’s struggle is Revolution Wind, a 704 MW capacity offshore wind farm under construction off the coast of Rhode Island. Through executive power, Trump effectively halted new offshore wind permits in January 2025, halting progress on Revolution Wind. Later on, subsequent orders and actions by federal agencies have empowered opponents to mount even more legal challenges to projects.

By December 2025, the US administration used the Department of Defense (now called the Department of War) to “pause” the leases for Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, Empire Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, due to “national security risks. A press communique later on clarified that the radar interference created by wind arrays is a national security threat.

A claim that has since been challenged by federal employees familiar with the project.

“I am not aware of a single instance in which BOEM did not follow a Department of Defense recommendation. The notion that now, years later, radar is being flagged as an issue and was not fully vetted during the prior project approvals is ludicrous.”

A former Interior Department employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Neues Bedford-Licht

Despite all these hurdles, this project is now 90% constructed and starting to send power to New England’s electric grid, and might mark the beginning of the restart of US offshore wind power.

Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Farm: Project Overview

Revolution Wind Timeline: Permits, Construction, and Delays

The project originated as a joint venture between Danish renewable energy company Ørsted (ORSTED.CO) and Eversource (ES + 0.38%), a US utility company. In 2024, Eversource sold its 50 percent ownership to Global Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of BlackRock (BLK + 1.64%).

The effort to secure the lease for the area and a permit to build the wind farm began as early as 2011, with a wind auction held in 2013.

Site assessment started in 2016, and the initial version of the Constructions and Operations Plan (COP) was submitted in 2020, with a public feedback period ending in 2022.

The final investment decision was finally taken in 2023, and the project was approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and construction started the same year.

The first turbine was installed in 2024, and building continued until the interruption by the Federal government in 2025.

Revolution Wind Specifications: Capacity, Turbines, and Grid Connection

The project covers the construction of 65 wind turbine generators, connected to the mainland power grid by two Offshore Substations (OSSs) and two submarine export cables.

It is located 15 miles off Rhode Island’s coast, and 12 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard. Revolution Wind is part of a much larger offshore wind complex that is already partially built, and partially still in construction, just permitted, or waiting for a permit.

Quelle: Das New Bedford Light

It will have a capacity of 704 MW, enough to power more than 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut. 400 MW of offshore wind power will go to Rhode Island, and 304 MW to Connecticut. This also makes it the first multi-state offshore wind project in the United States.

It will avoid the emissions of more than one million metric tons of carbon, or the equivalent of taking more than 150,000 cars off the road.

The turbines are provided by Siemens Gamesa (ENR.DE), Verwendung der SG 11-200 model, an 11 MW capacity, 200-meter diameter rotor wind turbine. Each will be supported by a fixed-bottom foundation, with a maximum embedment depth of 164 feet.

Quelle: Siemens Gamesa

The connection to the power grid is performed through two offshore substations, connected via up to 9 miles of link cable buried 4-6 feet deep.

Rechtliche Herausforderungen

Major infrastructure projects tend to experience delays due to permitting issues or obstruction by local residents. However, Revolution Wind was caught in the US political division, with the Trump administration notorious for not being a fan of renewables in general, and wind power in particular.

“I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They’re noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen in your life.”

President Trump

As such, the federal government deploying any possible way to interrupt wind power construction projects, including calling it a national security threat, is maybe not so surprising.

Delays from the stoppage were costing the project millions of dollars per week, according to court filings.

However, wind power developers seem to have successfully fought back, with the US federal court granting, in January 2026, a preliminary injunction allowing Revolution Wind construction to resume.

So it seems that at least for now, the project is back on track. And as an energy crisis is unfolding from the escalating war with Iran, obstruction to the construction of new power generation might prove to be less politically popular in the upcoming months.

Why Revolution Wind Matters for Rhode Island and Connecticut

Aggressive Move Toward 100% Renewables

This project fits into Rhode Island’s green targets, as the state has the most ambitious clean energy goal in the nation: it wants to reach 100% erneuerbare Energien for its electricity generation von 2033. The other partner state to the project, Connecticut, has set for itself the goal of 100% of the state’s electricity coming from zero-carbon sources by 2040.

The state, and New England at large, is also regularly facing potential energy shortages and reliability risks, particularly during winter, due to heavy reliance on natural gas for electricity and constrained pipeline capacity.

So Revolution Wind Farm is seen by Rhode Island as a way to stabilize energy prices for customers, with winter winds very welcome as an additional energy supply when the state needs it the most. The state has estimated that Revolution Wind will save New England ratepayers as much as $500 million per year 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. Revolution Wind is a testament to states tapping their energy resources to strengthen regional energy security and contribute to American energy dominance. ”

Amanda Dasch, Chief Development Officer at Ørsted.

The project has supported more than 2,000 workers across U.S. construction,  including more than 1,000 local union labor workers.

As it already brings power to the region at the end of winter, the arrival of a new supply is a boost to the local power supply.

“The first power from Revolution Wind comes at a critical time for our region, as recent extreme cold temperatures have underscored how important it is to bring every reliable energy source online for customers. This project adds essential new supply that enhances grid reliability, meets growing demand, and ensures dependable power when our customers need it most,”

Joe Nolan – Eversource Chairman, President, and CEO.

Building Offshore Infrastructure

Countries like Denmark, the UK, Norway, or China are familiar with offshore wind projects, and have progressively built a massive infrastructure to build, maintain, and later on decommission these energy megaprojects. In contrast, the USA has been lacking in such capability, at least until recently.

In that context, Revolution Wind Farm is not just an important project for Rhode Island or Connecticut, but also for the goal of reindustrializing the US in general.

Across its U.S. offshore projects, Ørsted is investing nearly $700M into domestic shipbuilding and vessel contracts, catalyzing the construction of 14 new, American-made vessels.

A lot of money has also been invested in transforming regional hubs. This starts with ProvPort in Rhode Island, with $100M for the largest offshore wind supply chain investment in the state’s history.

Another $35M was invested in Quonset Point to build a Regional Offshore Wind Logistics and Operations Hub, including the first-ever U.S. offshore wind helicopter agreement for new crew helicopters and a $1.8M million investment in Quonset State Airport.

Meanwhile, Connecticut invested $100M in State Pier in New London for a state-of-the-art, heavy-lift terminal.

Quelle: Revolutionswind

Revolution Wind Farm Potential

This wind megaproject has turned from an important energy infrastructure for New England to a symbol of the success and failure of the energy transition.

On one hand, it is already providing much-needed energy to the region, and will do so even more in the future when construction is fully finished, especially during winter, when other forms of renewable energy like solar tend to underperform, especially in the region’s cold and gloomy weather.

On the other hand, it was almost killed by a politically motivated allegation that the project should stop. So determining if the executive order that blocked it was legal or can be done again to other projects will likely determine not just the fate of Revolution Wind Farm, but of offshore wind in the US in general.

Investing In Revolution Wind Farm

Quanta-Dienste (PWR -0.17 %)

As Revolution Wind is moving forward, investors might want to capitalize on companies that have proven their technical ability in this project, as it will likely be the template for many other offshore wind projects in New England and elsewhere in the USA.

One such company is Quanta Services, a conglomerate bringing together 200+ companies working in the specialty infrastructure solutions provider sector. In practice, this means Quanta’s employees bring unique expertise in niche tasks for Stromerzeugung, erneuerbare Energien, Breitband, concrete buildings, Dienstprogramme, Tiefbau,  unterirdische Versorgungsunternehmen, usw.

This structure of the company’s business is recurring jobs with deep customer relationships, with 85%+ of revenues from “repeatable and sustainable activity”. This structure also helps grow revenues, with 18% CAGR in revenues from the top 20 business customers, and 12% CAGR from the top 20 utilities.

In the case of the Revolution Wind Farm, Quanta provided the Subsea Cable Splicing and High-Voltage Interconnection. Thanks to its specialized “grid balancing” tech, it handles the fluctuating levels of wind power generation to supply the aging US grid without risking destabilizing it.

Quanta has been at the forefront of the deployment of renewables and other advanced electrical solutions, and is now benefiting from this experience in the context of further electrification and the build-up of AI datacenters.

In the case of data centers, Quanta provides essential equipment like power distribution, standby power supply, as well as lighting, cameras, fire alarms, etc, with the multiple firms of the conglomerate able to provide a more complete solution than individual companies could, while still retaining their own unique focus on specific technologies.

Quelle: Quanta-Dienste

Overall, Quanta is expected to benefit from the trend of electrification, AI, renewable capacity build-up, and the overall reindustrialization of the USA, as well as the repair and upgrade of the power grid.

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