Workers set the steel foundation of the nation’s first offshore wind farm Sunday about three miles off the coast of Block Island, a 1,000-person tourist town in Rhode Island.
Deepwater Wind, the company behind the project, expects the wind farm to start operating next year and provide power to 17,000 homes, according to the Associated Press.
More offshore wind projects are in the works around the nation, including one on the Pacific coast, where a deeper continental shelf makes securing turbines a challenge.
A Seattle company last February gained federal approval to move ahead with its application to build a floating offshore wind farm about 15 miles off the coast of Coos Bay, Ore.