Voyagers sailing past Block Island’s south shore will soon catch the sight of construction of one of the first offshore wind farms in the U.S. Called Deepwater Wind, the line of five wind turbine towers, each with a six-megawatt capacity, will be sited three miles southeast of Rhode Island’s Block Island.
The first phase of construction will involve installing the five foundations of the towers in approximately 60 feet of water. Construction began the week of July 20 and was expected to take approximately eight weeks. Vessels are prohibited within the Coast Guard’s 500-yard safety zone around each foundation during construction.
Cable and wind turbine installation will occur in 2016, and by the end of 2016 the wind farm is scheduled to be in operation.
