Deepwater Wind was established to develop large-scale offshore wind projects in the north-eastern part of the United States. The company's major investors are First Wind, a developer of on-shore wind projects in the United States, D.E. Shaw & Co., a capital investment firm with energy sector experience, and Ospraie Management, an asset management firm interested in alternative energy markets.

On 25 September 2008, Governor Donald L. Carcieri announced that Deepwater Wind was chosen as the successful developer to construct a wind power

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

 project off Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 which will provide 1.3 million megawatt hours per year of renewable energy — 15 percent of all electricity used in the state.
In 2009, Deepwater signed an agreement with National Grid to sell the power from a $200-million, 30-MW wind farm off Block Island, at an initial price of 24.4 ¢/kW·h.