Offshore wind With the recent completion of the first wind turbine field off the coast of Block Island, many oil rig developers are shifting their attention to this popular new industry. Deepwater Wind LLC installed five turbines three miles southeast of Block Island this past August and they will hopefully be online in November. These turbines will produce 30-megawatts of energy, enough to power over 16,000 homes. The capital required for these projects can be quite expensive; the Block Island project was a $300 million investment. Several other companies are involved in the production and transportation of the parts. Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. traditionally builds platforms for oil rigs, a service that is shrinking with oil production moving to land. The company has shifted its services over to the renewable industry, providing Deepwater with the means to tether their turbines to the ocean floor. Keystone Engineering Inc. was responsible […]