Deepwater Wind has announced its selection as the provisional winner of two offshore wind energy sites located in the federal waters off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Deepwater Wind plans to develop the Deepwater Wind Energy Center (DWEC), a utility-scale wind farm of up to 200 turbines with a regional transmission system linking Long Island, New York, to southeastern New England. Deepwater Wind’s winning bid of $3.8 million for the two sites came in the eleventh round of the competition. Deepwater Wind previously paid a $900,000 deposit to participate in the auction, with the remainder of the bid amount to be paid in the coming months when the official lease is signed for the sites. In addition, Deepwater Wind will pay the federal government annual rent payments of approximately $500,000 beginning this year, until a wind farm is operational on the site. Once the wind farm is operational, Deepwater Wind is obligated to pay the federal government an annual royalty fee based on the value of the energy produced. Construction could begin as early as 2017, with commercial operations by 2018.