The 144 MW Revolution offshore wind farm will be paired up with a 40 MWh battery storage system provided by Tesla. The project is in response to a Request for Proposals (RfP) for new sources of clean energy in Section 83D of the Act to Promote Energy Diversity. Deepwater Wind also provided alternative bids for a larger 288 MW version of the offshore wind farm and also a smaller 96 MW version.
“Revolution Wind will be the largest combined offshore wind and energy storage project in the world” said Deepwater Wind Chief Executive Officer 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. Revolution Wind is flexible and scalable. That’s a serious advantage of offshore wind – we can build to the exact size utilities need. We can build a larger project if other New England states want to participate now or we can start smaller to fit into the region’s near-term energy gaps. And our pricing at any size will be very competitive with the alternatives.
Deepwater Wind will also be the first company to base construction and operations in the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where it will locate final turbine assembly and staging operations at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. The company will also base its long-term operations and maintenance centre in the city. This in turn will create hundreds of local jobs.
The Revolution Wind combination of offshore wind and battery energy storage will allow the state to meet two policy goals, delivering clean energy while advancing offshore wind development. The battery storage element will help the project defer the need to construct costly new peaking generating facilities and controversial transmission lines. It will also act as an avenue by which the offshore wind industry can be launched and thereafter expanded in Massachusetts, phasing in larger-scale projects in close succession. This will enable the state’s ratepayers to benefit from increased competition and declining costs, while the regional supply chain steadily matures.
Revolution Wind could be built in a single construction season, more cost-effectively and with less risk than a larger project. It will be located 30 miles from the mainland and about 12 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard in the company’s federal lease site, adjacent to Deepwater Wind’s South Fork Wind Farm, a 90 MW project serving Long Island. The lease site has the potential to host 2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy. If approved, local construction work on Revolution Wind would begin in 2022, with the project in operation by 2023.
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