OFF THE COAST OF RHODE ISLAND — Offshore wind turbines roughly three times the height of the Statue of Liberty were spinning far off the coast of Rhode Island on Thursday, sending clean electricity to the region.
Wind farms are taking shape and operating along the East Coast, even as President Donald Trump seeks to end the U.S. offshore wind industry. He often talks about his hatred of wind power and calls turbines ugly.
The Associated Press traveled roughly 100 miles (161 kilometers) and saw three of the five wind farms in the area. Two of the five are fully operational, two are nearly done, and one is about halfway built.
The first turbines from the Revolution Wind project were clearly visible from about 5 nautical miles away, and can be seen from farther away on clear days. They stretched across the horizon, massive structures evenly spaced in rows, some spinning in the light winds.
The enormity of the turbines was evident from even a mile out.
Wind farms under construction
PHOTOS: Offshore wind farms take shape along Rhode Island’s coast, even as Trump wants to stop them
Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind are offshore wind projects being built to power about 1 million homes across Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.
It took about an hour and a half to reach the Revolution Wind site, more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of the Rhode Island coast.
Some of the blades started to turn as the early morning winds picked up. Workers were inside the central hub of the wind farm, a large gray substation.
Revolution Wind is more than 90% complete. It recently began delivering power to New England’s grid, and it’s on track to be completed this year.
Nearby at Sunrise Wind, construction is nearly 50% complete. Orsted is developing both projects. Sunrise Wind is a mix of installed turbines and empty yellow foundations that still await their towers and blades. A vessel with giant cranes to install the offshore wind components was parked nearby.
The tip of a spinning turbine appeared to touch the clouds.
The first large U.S. offshore wind farm
The first large U.S. offshore wind farm to open, South Fork Wind, borders the Revolution Wind site.
Now in its second year of operating commercially, its 12 turbines can send enough power to New York for more than 70,000 homes.
A ship that serves as a floating home base for technicians working on wind farms was next to one of the turbines on Thursday. The technicians had used the ship’s gangway to walk onto the turbine and stood at its base, or foundation.
When South Fork opened in 2024, Biden administration officials said it was just the beginning – major new wind farms would dot U.S. coastlines to confront climate change, create jobs and accelerate the nation’s transition to clean energy.
Less than a year later, Trump returned to office and ordered a temporary halt to leasing and permitting for wind energy projects. His administration has paused work wind farms under construction, arranged a $1 billion payout to a French energy company to walk away from U.S. offshore wind development and added an extra layer of review for wind and solar projects. Federal judges have struck down some of his orders blocking wind energy development, including a ruling Tuesday stopping the administration from implementing some of the policies slowing the development of clean energy.
At the same time wind energy is being held back, the demand for electricity in the United States is skyrocketing and there are limited options in land-constrained coastal states for new, large energy projects in the next few years, which drives up utility bills, said Hillary Bright, executive director of the offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward.
“These energy policies are really hitting people at home, in their pocketbooks,” she said. “Offshore wind ultimately can be a part of that solution.”
The first five turbines
The closest site to the coast is the Block Island Wind Farm. It’s in state waters near Block Island, Rhode Island.
These five turbines began spinning in 2016, making this the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Its turbines are shorter than those installed at successive projects, but still look enormous up close. They replaced polluting diesel generators that were powering Block Island.
The first wind farm to finish construction during Trump’s tenure
Construction finished on Vineyard Wind in March. It was the first wind farm to reach this stage during Trump’s time in office.
It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months, to power over 400,000 Massachusetts homes and businesses.
There are two other major U.S. offshore wind farms under construction: a New York offshore wind project, Empire Wind, and a Virginia offshore wind project, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.
“This is a major commercial industry in the United States of America,” Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said in an interview. “Whether the president is enthusiastic about it or not, we have massive energy projects that are either bringing power to the grid or near completion.”
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