Updated November 6, 2026 at 7:16 AM EST
Editor’s Note: This story was updated after WBUR learned another larger project in the region, Vineyard Wind, achieved full power in late October.
After nearly three years of construction, Revolution Wind, a large offshore wind project near the cost of Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts, is fully operational.
With 65 turbines, the project is capable of generating 704 megawatts, which is about the amount of electricity needed to power 350,000 homes.
Three other wind farms in the region are fully operational, including the slightly larger Vineyard Wind project, which is capable of powering about 400,000 homes. The two other operational projects, South Fork Wind and the Block Island Wind Farm generate a combined total of 162 megawatts.
In a statement, the Danish wind developer Ørsted confirmed the milestone for Revolution Wind and said its project would help “[strengthen] the region’s supply of affordable, reliable energy.”
Environmental advocates, meanwhile, were more effusive in their celebrations.
“This is a huge moment for the region and for offshore wind,” said Katie Segal, senior director of offshore wind for the Environmental League of Massachusetts. “Within New England, we’re going to have so many benefits from this project, and we’re really eager to see how those play out over the coming months and years.”
Segal added that the milestone was particularly notable, given that Revolution Wind has been a frequent target of the second Trump administration.
First in August 2025, and then again in December 2025, the Interior Department said the project needed to stop construction because of unspecified national security concerns. In both cases, the administration succeeded in disrupting work on the project — costing Ørsted a lot of money and keeping hundreds of people out of work — but ultimately, federal judges ruled the developer could get back to building the wind farm.
More recently, the Trump administration has said it wants to reevaluate a key permit issued under the Biden administration. Though this case is still making its way through the courts, Segal said she’s optimistic that any ruling will come down in Revolution Wind’s favor.
“ I think the courts have shown time and time again that the administration and its supporters have a very weak legal argument when it comes to this process,” she said. “Every single time the Trump administration has tried to block offshore wind in the courts, they have been shot down.”
The waters off the New England coast have some of the strongest and most consistent winds anywhere in the world. And though critics tend to knock offshore wind for being intermittent — after all, the wind doesn’t always blow — advocates of the renewable technology point out that it has big climate, affordability and reliability benefits.
“Offshore wind is crucial for the region meeting its climate and clean energy goals,” since it can help displace polluting fossil fuel power sources, said Anxhela Mile, a staff attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation. It may also “help safeguard residents against climate impacts, like severe storms and flooding, by reducing the amount of carbon pollution in the atmosphere.”
Revolution Wind has contracts to provide power to Connecticut and Rhode Island, though it’s expected to save ratepayers across New England about $500 million annually by 2028, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The project began sending electricity to the New England grid in March, and is expected to meet 5% of Connecticut’s overall electricity demand and 20% of Rhode Island’s demand.
“Today marks the beginning of a new electricity era,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, wrote in a post on X. “With fuel costs continuing to climb, this project couldn’t have been completed at a better time.”
Today marks the beginning of a new electricity era in CT. With Revolution Wind fully operational, CT’s electricity supply will be greener & more affordable. With fuel costs continuing to climb, this project couldn’t have been completed at a better time. https://t.co/sTSE7t1GSc
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) November 5, 2026
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, another Democrat, also praised the project in a statement, calling it “a major win for Rhode Island’s workforce and our state’s energy future.”
According to Ørsted, more than 1,000 union workers built Revolution Wind. Many spent long stints out at sea, constructing the massive turbines and laying the cables that bring the project’s power to shore. The company also invested $120 million to help redevelop the ports in Connecticut and Rhode Island that supported the project, and could support future offshore wind projects.
Of course, not everyone is celebrating the news about full power.
Michael Lombardi, president of Green Oceans, a nonprofit that opposes offshore wind, said in an email that Revolution Wind is having a negative impact on fishermen and the environment. He also said his group supports the Trump administration’s request to reevaluate the project’s operations permit.
Elsewhere in the waters off the Northeast coast, Sunrise Wind, another Ørsted project, recently finished installing all of the foundations for its 924-megawatt wind farm. The company expects to complete that project sometime next year and begin sending power to Long Island.
Last Friday, wind power in New England peaked at 2,400 megawatts, breaking a record for the region.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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