Five-turbine wind farm off Rhode Island heralds a new era in power for the U.S.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The nation’s first offshore wind farm is set to open off Rhode Island this fall, ushering in a new era in the U.S. for the industry.

Developers, federal regulators and industry experts say the opening will move the U.S. industry from a theory to reality, paving the way for the construction of many more wind farms that will eventually provide power for many Americans.

Deepwater Wind is building a five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, R.I., to power about 17,000 homes. The project costs about $300 million, according to the company.

CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said the Block Island wind farm enables larger projects because it proves that wind farms can be built along the nation’s coast.

“I look at Block Island as sort of the key to unlocking the code of how to do offshore wind in the U.S.,” he said.

This comes as other states have “suddenly woken up” to offshore wind’s potential, Grybowski added.

Areas suitable for offshore wind farms have been identified off seven states and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has already awarded 11 commercial offshore wind energy leases for sites in the Atlantic Ocean.

Developers have requested commercial wind leases for areas off California and Hawaii. And a lease sale is planned for 81,000 acres off New York for commercial wind energy this year.

“There’s a tremendous amount of activity and I think this will be viewed in history as the year that changed everything for the U.S. offshore wind industry,” said Kit Kennedy, an energy and transportation expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Offshore wind farms are being proposed near population epicenters that lack the space to build on land.

Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said climate change is driving interest in offshore wind, and she expects to see more wind farms being built in about three to five years.

Indeed, several states are pushing ambitious clean energy goals, which include offshore wind. Among them is California, which has a target of generating 50 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030. Vermont hopes to hit 55 percent by next year, and Hawaii has called for 100 percent renewable power by 2045.

Massachusetts decided to ramp up its reliance on renewable and alternative sources of energy under a bill signed into law just this week.

Steven Senne photos / Associated Press file Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo speaks with Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffery Grybowski last month while touring a staging site at the Port of Providence in Rhode Island.

Racks holding sections of wind turbine towers at a staging site at the Port of Providence. Deepwater Wind expects to start operating in the fall.