Vineyard Wind 1, the 62-turbine wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard, reached full commercial operations on Thursday, Oct. 29, a company spokesperson told WBUR, which reported the milestone on Friday, Nov. 6. The $4.5 billion, 800-megawatt project is the largest offshore wind farm in the United States and can power about 400,000 homes, WBUR reported. The news came hours after Ørsted said its 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island was fully operational, WBUR said.
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What we know
Vineyard Wind spokesperson Craig Gilvarg confirmed in an email to WBUR that “Vineyard Wind 1 reached full commercial operations.” The project employed about 3,500 people, many of them union workers, WBUR reported.
The wind farm is jointly owned by Avangrid, a subsidiary of Spain’s Iberdrola, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and sells its power to Massachusetts electric distribution companies under a power purchase agreement, The Martha’s Vineyard Times reported in March, when crews installed the last of its 186 blades. At the time, Gov. Maura Healey said the project would “save Massachusetts families and businesses $1.4 billion,” according to the Times.
A decade of delays
The project’s path was long. In July 2024 a blade broke off one turbine and debris washed ashore, mainly on Nantucket, according to the Martha’s Vineyard Times; WBUR said the public outcry and federal investigation set the timeline back again. Nantucket settled with blade maker GE Vernova for $10.5 million, the Times reported.
In late December 2025, with the project about 95% complete, the Trump administration issued stop-work orders to Vineyard Wind and four other offshore projects, citing national security; federal judges disagreed and work resumed, WBUR reported. The first Trump administration had also held up permitting in 2019, according to WBUR.
Revolution Wind and the regional picture
Revolution Wind’s 65 turbines can power about 350,000 homes under contracts serving Connecticut and Rhode Island, and the project was expected to meet 5% of Connecticut’s demand and 20% of Rhode Island’s, WBUR reported. Connecticut’s energy department projects about $500 million a year in savings for New England ratepayers by 2028, according to WBUR. Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote on X, “Today marks the beginning of a new electricity era.”
Together the two farms total 1,504 megawatts (TBR calculation from WBUR figures). The 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind project is expected to finish next year, while the administration is seeking to reevaluate a key Revolution Wind permit in a case still pending in court, WBUR said. Follow more energy and business coverage on our Economic Warfare Dashboard.
What happens next
An assistant attorney general told a hearing earlier this year that ratepayers could see lower prices once Vineyard Wind reached commercial operation, the Martha’s Vineyard Times reported. How quickly that shows up on bills was not addressed in WBUR’s report. Track the state’s economy on our Boston Job Market tracker and more coverage in Business & Finance.
Our Take
Analysis and opinion. After a broken blade, court fights and stop-work orders, New England now has two utility-scale offshore farms running at once. The real test for Massachusetts households is whether the promised savings arrive on bills, and that is the number worth watching next.
Sources
- WBUR: Vineyard Wind, the country’s largest offshore wind project, is fully up and running
- WBUR: A large offshore wind project in New England, Revolution Wind, is fully operational
- The Martha’s Vineyard Times: Construction phase finishes on a decade-long saga
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