Block Island Windfarm, with five turbines in 90 ft of water two miles off the shore of Rhode Island, is the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Technicians from General Electric are completing the installation and preparing it to be operational.
The wind farm has a total generating capacity of 30 megawatts and is expected to produce over 125,000 MWH each year, enough to power 17,000 homes. Approximately 10% of the capacity is for use on Block Island, and the rest will be sent to be mainland via underwater cable. The cable will also allow Block Island to get power from the mainland at times when there is not enough wind power. The turbines are 360 ft. above sea level, with blades 240 ft. long.
The wind farm is permitted for 20 year lifespan, and when decomissioned, it is required that the supporting foundations be cut off at sea bottom. So far local fishermen say that the towers have increased habitat for fish an other forms of marine life.
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