Alstom scores wind-turbine sale to US\'s Deepwater

France's Alstom will supply turbines to a 30-megawatt pilot wind farm to be built off the US Atlantic coast near Rhode Island, the company announced Monday. Alstom will sell five of its 6-megawatt Haliade 150-6 turbines to the Block Island Wind Farm under development by Deepwater Wind. "This agreement represents a giant leap forward for the Block Island Wind Farm, and the start of turbine construction just last month marked a major project milestone," said Deepwater chief executive Jeffrey Grybowski. The wind farm, about three miles (five kilometers) off the coast of Block island, Rhode Island, will supply enough power a year for 17,000 homes. Alstom said it could eventually lead to a larger, one-gigawatt wind farm that could supply New York, Rhode Island and other states in the region. "Our contract with Deepwater Wind further demonstrates our commitment to the expanding US wind market," said Andy Geissbuelher, head of Alstom’s North American wind division, in a statement. No value was put on the project, but its announcement came on the first day of a state visit by French President Francois Hollande to the United States.