Providence, R.I.: Deepwater Wind Block Island, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deepwater Wind, announced March 2 that it has now fully financed the Block Island Wind Farm, reaching financial close on more than $290 million in project financing provided by Mandated Lead Arrangers Societe Generale of Paris, France, and KeyBank National Association of Cleveland, Ohio.
With these major agreements, Deepwater Wind has now secured all debt and equity funding needed to construct and operate its 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm, already under construction. Deepwater Wind is the only United States offshore wind company to reach this critical milestone. The Block Island Wind Farm will be America’s first offshore wind farm.
• Alstom will supply five Haliade 150 6 MW offshore wind turbines for the project and has already completed the fabrication in Denmark of all 15 blades for the project.
• Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. began fabrication work in January 2015 at its facilities in Houma, Louisiana on the wind farm’s five steel jacket foundations. That work is scheduled to be complete in several months.
• Rhode Island-based Specialty Diving Services is expected to begin additional fabrication work on components of the foundation substructures at Quonset, Rhode Island in the coming weeks.
• Alstom has received formal notice from Deepwater Wind to provide wind turbines for the Block Island offshore wind farm in Rhode Island.
“Steel in the water” is planned for this summer, when all five foundations are scheduled for installation off the Block Island coast. The project will be in-service in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The wind farm will have a total capacity of 30 megawatts and include five Alstom Haliade 150 6-MW wind turbines. The wind farm is expected to begin producing power in the last quarter of 2016.