The project's 62 turbines can generate 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power roughly 400,000 homes in the region. The news arrived just hours after Revolution Wind, a slightly smaller project, announced it had reached full power with a capacity of 704 megawatts, sufficient for about 350,000 homes.

"New England is better off now that we have not one but TWO fully commercially operational projects," said Katie Segal, senior director of offshore wind for the Environmental League of Massachusetts. "We are in for a difficult winter and wind will help with costs and reliability."

Gov. Maura Healey called the development "a major milestone for the American offshore wind industry" and "an important boost" for the regional grid. "Vineyard Wind has already saved Massachusetts families and businesses millions of dollars on their electricity bills," she said in a statement. "With the project at full commercial operation alongside Revolution Wind, offshore wind will bring down the price of electricity even further in New England."

The path to full operation was anything but smooth. The project's timeline slipped repeatedly, beginning in 2019 when the first Trump administration indefinitely delayed the permitting process. Construction finally began under President Biden, but in 2024 a faulty turbine blade snapped, sending debris into the ocean that washed up on Nantucket's shores, prompting a federal investigation and further delays. Then, in late December 2025, with the project 95% complete, the Trump administration issued stop-work orders to Vineyard Wind and four other projects under construction, citing national security concerns. Several federal judges disagreed, and the projects were eventually allowed to resume.

Construction was completed in mid-March, and the project's final turbines were connected to the New England grid. The $4.5 billion project employed about 3,500 people, many of them union workers.

Offshore wind has long been central to New England's energy strategy. The six states have no oil or gas reserves and limited open land for solar or onshore wind, but the relatively shallow waters off the coast offer some of the strongest and most consistent winds in the world. Yet the U.S. offshore wind industry has faced years of economic and political challenges, and the future of all but a handful of projects remains uncertain. Since early 2025, the Trump administration has sought to hobble the industry through executive actions, stop-work orders, and a blanket permitting pause that has frozen progress on all but five projects already under construction.

Wind advocates are watching a federal permitting reform bill being negotiated in Congress, which could provide more certainty and prevent future administrations from discriminating against projects or power sources they oppose. But the legislation's fate is also uncertain.

For now, as New England heads into winter, the regional grid has significantly more clean energy than in years past — and two fully operational offshore wind farms for the first time.