On November 17, 2023, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved the Construction and Operations Plan (COP), as modified by the selected alternative in the Record of Decision, for the Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable Project.
On August 22, 2023, the Department of the Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the Revolution Wind project offshore Rhode Island. Located approximately 15 nautical miles offshore southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island, the approved version of the project will have an estimated capacity of 704 megawatts of clean energy, capable of powering nearly 250,000 homes.
The Joint Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by BOEM, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on August 21, 2023. This Joint ROD documents these agencies’ decision to approve Revolution Wind’s plan to construct up to 65 wind turbines and two offshore substations within the lease area.
Please see the Construction and Operations Plan and Environmental Review tabs above for more information.
On September 12, 2013, BOEM executed commercial wind energy leases OCS-A 0486. For more information on the planning and environmental review process offshore wind activities offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts, visit the pages below.
On March 23, 2020, BOEM approved an application to assign a portion of commercial lease OCS-A 0486 from Deepwater Wind New England, LLC to Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC, which resulted in segregation of the lease and a new lease number OCS-A 0517. The remaining portion of the OCS-A 0486 area was assigned to DWW Rev I, LLC on March 24, 2020. The approved assignment forms are available below.
Note: For commercial lease OCS-A 0486, DWW Rev I, LLC subsequently changed their name to Revolution Wind, LLC. For commercial lease OCS-A 0517, Deepwater Wind South Fork, LLC subsequently changed their name to South Fork Wind, LLC. More information on the South Fork Wind Farm project can be found here: https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/south-fork.
Visual Impact Assessment
The visual impact assessment includes photo simulations from numerous Key Observation Points (KOPs) and provides a detailed analysis of the potential visibility of the proposed Project and differences in landscape visual quality with and without the Project in place.
Photo simulations of the proposed Revolution Wind Farm from all KOPs may be viewed or downloaded by state in the following:
Photo simulations of the Revolution Wind Alternatives as seen from KOPs MV07 Aquinnah Overlook, and for comparison to the COP for the Alternative G KOPs A109 A The Breakers-lawn, A109 B The Breakers-balcony, and Bl04 Southeast Lighthouse may be viewed or downloaded from the following links:
As part of the COP review, a series of time-lapse videos were generated that depict 18 hours of daytime and nighttime conditions under a variety of lighting conditions (including nighttime), cloud cover, and weather scenarios. To represent nighttime conditions, the aviation obstruction lights were animated to flash at a rate of 30 flashes per minute. As discussed in Appendix U3 (Visual Impact Assessment) of the COP, based on past flight data and the use of Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems (ADLS), the aviation obstruction lights associated with the project would only be activated for a total of approximately 3.5 hours over a one-year period.
The visual impact assessment includes photo simulations from numerous Key Observation Points and provides a detailed analysis of the potential visibility of the proposed Project and differences in landscape visual quality with and without the Project in place.
Links to the video simulations provided below are also in Table 2.2-3 of the visual impact assessment. Note: If viewing on a computer monitor, use the highest screen resolution available. The simulation is at the proper perspective when viewed at a distance of approximately twice the image height.
The BOEM Cumulative Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment (CHRVEA) provides photo simulations for the project when combined with other reasonably foreseeable offshore wind development in the area. Collectively, the views illustrate the full range of viewing angles, lighting and weather conditions, and viewing distances from open, publicly accessible vantage points throughout the entire potentially affected area.
Appendix C of the BOEM Cumulative Historic Resources Visual Effects Assessment (CHRVEA) provides photo simulations for the project when combined with other reasonably foreseeable offshore wind development in the area. Collectively, the views illustrate the full range of viewing angles, lighting and weather conditions, and viewing distances from open, publicly accessible vantage points throughout the entire potentially affected area. The CHRVEA and associated appendices can be accessed here:
On October 12, 2017, BOEM approved the Site Assessment Plan (SAP) for Lease OCS-A 0486. The SAP approval allows for the installation of an AXYS FLiDAR 6M™ meteorological buoy (met buoy) within the lease area. For additional information, please find the approved SAP and conditions of approval below:
The SAP was filed on April 1, 2016, with revisions filed in July, September, and November 2016. BOEM determined the SAP was complete on October 7, 2016. In October 2020, BOEM received an application to decommission the met buoy within the OCS-A 0486 lease area. BOEM approved the decommissioning application on August 13, 2021 with conditions. All equipment was retrieved from the site on September 14, 2021.
On November 17, 2023, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the Construction and Operations Plan (COP), as modified by the selected alternative in the Record of Decision (ROD), for the Revolution Wind Farm and Revolution Wind Export Cable Project.
Revolution Wind submitted its COP initially on March 13, 2020. An updated COP was submitted on April 29, 2021, July 21, 2022, and March 1, 2023.
Revolution Wind may build and operate a commercial wind energy facility with up to 65 wind turbine generators and two offshore substations within the lease area of BOEM’s Renewable Energy Lease Number OCS-A 0486. The project is located approximately 18 statute miles southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island and approximately 15 statute miles east of Block Island, Rhode Island. The approved project will have an estimated capacity of 704 megawatts of clean energy.
The most recent COP and appendices are available here:
The March 2023 version of the COP informs the basis for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that was published on July 21, 2023. See the Environmental Review tabs above for more information on the Final EIS and the ROD.
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Scoping
On April 30, 2021, BOEM published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Revolution Wind's Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Rhode Island.
The Notice of Intent initiated a 30-day public comment period. During the public comment period, BOEM hosted three virtual scoping meetings where the public learned more about the Construction and Operations Plan (COP), asked questions, and provided oral testimony.
Recordings from the virtual scoping meetings are available:
BOEM received 41 submissions during the scoping period from the public, agencies, Tribes, and other interested groups and stakeholders. Scoping comments can be viewed through the Regulations.gov web portal by searching Docket No. BOEM-2021-0029 at http://www.regulations.gov and clicking “View Related Comments”.
On August 29, 2022, BOEM announced the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Revolution Wind energy project offshore Rhode Island. The Notice of Availability and DEIS can be accessed using the links below.
More information, including meeting registration and instructions for commenting, is available in the Virtual Meeting Room.
Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS)
On July 21, 2023, BOEM’s Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Revolution Wind Final EIS for Revolution Wind LLC's Proposed Wind Energy Facility Offshore Rhode Island will be available in the Federal Register. The following documents are available for your viewing.
On August 15, 2023, BOEM published an errata on its website that included certain edits to the summary of impacts by alternative tables in the Executive Summary and Chapter 2 of the FEIS to include species-specific impact determinations for North Atlantic Right Whale at the request of NOAA. The errata also provides numbering corrections, and text and footnotes and table note clarifications in Chapter 3, Appendix E-2, and Appendix F. None of these edits or corrections are substantive or affect the analysis or conclusions in the FEIS.
On August 22, 2023, the Department of the Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the Revolution Wind project offshore Rhode Island. Located approximately 15 nautical miles offshore southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island, the approved version of the project will have an estimated capacity of 704 megawatts of clean energy.
The Joint Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by BOEM, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on August 21, 2023. This Joint ROD documents these agencies’ decision to approve Revolution Wind’s plan to construct up to 65 wind turbines and two offshore substations within the lease area.
