Work begins on nation’s first offshore wind farm

Rhode Island lawmakers celebrated the start of construction on the nation’s first offshore wind farm Monday.

State lawmakers and members of Congress attended a ground-breaking of sorts for Deepwater Wind’s project at Block Island, R.I. The event was held at a business that will build parts of the foundation for the wind farm’s five turbines, according to the Providence Journal.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) tweeted from the event:

Today I was proud to celebrate #RI workers starting on the nation’s 1st offshore #wind #energy project @DeepwaterWind pic.twitter.com/utAYc5Hjgr

— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) April 27, 2015

The 30-megawatt Deepwater Wind project is scheduled to open next year, becoming the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States.

{mosads}Green groups also praised the accomplishment on Monday with the head of the Massachusetts Sierra Club calling it “an Apollo 11 moment” in a statement.

The Obama administration is looking to encourage more offshore wind energy development, setting a goal of doubling renewable energy production on federal lands and waters before 2020.

In January, the Department of Interior leased 350,000 acres of space off the coast of Massachusetts for wind energy development. That area joins four other East Coast locations slated to eventually host wind turbines. Another sale is planned for the coast off New Jersey later this year.