After a series of failed attempts to add more offshore wind power to Rhode Island’s energy portfolio, the state utility operator has turned landward.
Rhode Island Energy announced Tuesday that it has tentatively agreed to buy 150 megawatts of wind-powered electricity from an onshore wind farm planned for northern Maine. The conditional agreement with project developer Clearway Energy Group remains subject to pricing negotiations — a sticking point for past proposals on offshore wind projects — and also requires approval from the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.
Onshore wind projects have not been spared from the Trump administration’s attacks on renewable energy projects. Federal regulators paused permits on land wind and solar projects beginning in July 2025, setting off an escalating legal battle as project developers and Democratic attorneys general — including Rhode Island’s Peter Neronha — sought to overturn the federal freeze. A federal judge in Oregon ordered federal regulators to resume previews under a preliminary injunction issued on Aug. 6…