Only months after the US state of Massachusetts stunned industry watchers by maxing out its procurement remit with 1.6GW in offshore wind awards, neighbouring Rhode Island has taken up the mantle with a mandate for as much as 1GW of capacity to be auctioned off as early as this October.

Last week the state legislature in Rhode Island – home to the country’s first commercial offshore wind farm, the 30MW Block Island – approved a measure to procure from 600MW-1GW of capacity as part of the state’ effort to achieve 100% renewable power production by 2033.