Orsted and Eversource are taking steps towards transforming Rhode Island’s Providence Port into a regional US offshore wind hub by setting up a foundation component factory.
The new factory will be used for fabrication and assembly of foundation platforms for Orsted and Eversource’s joint venture offshore wind projects serving Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.
Orsted and Eversource have also reached a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and Dimeo Construction.
The agreements ensure that the site upgrades and facility construction required to turn ProvPort into a regional offshore wind hub will be completed by local, union labour.
The PLA builds on the earlier collaboration between the Building Trades and Orsted on the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, which has been in operations since 2016.
Rhode Island governor Daniel McKee said: “Orsted and Eversource are keeping their commitment to making significant investments in Rhode Island to create new, good-paying union jobs and position our port facilities to become central hubs in this growing industry.
“Rhode Islanders are ready to get to work building the next great US offshore wind farms.”
Orsted Offshore North America CEO David Hardy said: “We’re reaffirming our commitment to Rhode Island with the advancement of a regional fabrication and assembly hub at ProvPort.
“Our partnership with local labor is critical to the success of our offshore wind farms and we’re ready to put more local tradesmen and women to work in the state where we launched America’s offshore wind industry.”
In total, Orsted and Eversource are investing a combined $40m at ProvPort and Quonset Point, in North Kingstown, to support the development of the Revolution Wind project serving Rhode and Connecticut, as well as the South Fork Wind project serving New York.
The site upgrades and facility construction at ProvPort will create approximately 40 union jobs.
Dimeo Construction, the project’s general contractor, has also engaged a number of local Rhode Island construction companies to support the facility construction, all of whom will work under the PLA.
“We’re grateful to be the lead contractor on this important work to upgrade ProvPort and construct a new facility that will be crucial to the development of the region’s offshore wind farms,” said Dimeo Construction CEO Bradford Dimeo.
In November of 2020, Orsted and Eversource signed an agreement with North America’s Building Trades Unions, an alliance of 14 national and international unions representing over three million construction workers, for the build out of their US portfolio of projects with union labour.
The NABTU agreement is based on the successful model developed by the Rhode Island Building Trades for the Block Island Wind Farm, under the leadership of president Michael Sabitoni.
In December 2016, Orsted and Eversource teamed up to develop offshore wind projects and the partnership has now grown to include at least 1700MW of offshore wind under development, including the 704MW Revolution Wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, the 132MW South Fork Wind serving Long Island, and the 924MW Sunrise Wind project serving New York.